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5 Ways to Make your New Year's Resolutions Stick

12/30/2014

2015 is right around the corner. If you're like most people, a new year usually brings a desire to change some aspect of your life for the better. You might call them resolutions, intentions, goals, or life changes. The biggest challenge in this exercise, though, is figuring out how to make these resolutions stick past the first couple of weeks in January.

Here's five tips that could help you make your new year's resolutions stick:

Focus.
Instead of coming up with a list of ten things you want to change in your life, focus on 2 to 3 things. And if you want to be super focused, choose one thing. Focus helps to gather your attention and energy, rather than having it scattered all over the place. Whatever we put our attention on in life grows!
Choose a goal that you can break into bite-sized chunks.
One of the tricks to making a resolution stick is to eventually make it into a habit. Habits are actions that we take repeatedly because they are simple and become ingrained into our daily lifestyle. For example, if you want to start saving money, get a jar for your house where you put in loose change every day. The amount of money doesn't matter. Even a penny works. What you're doing is creating a simple habit.
Share your progress with others.
Accountability is a great motivator. Share your resolution with a close friend, or find a support group where you can check in. When you make a public commitment, you declare to the universe loud and clear your intention. And I believe the universe conspires to bring you the right and perfect resources and people to bring your intention into reality.
Create a vision board.
A vision board is a visual display of your intentions. An easy way to make one is to cut out pictures, images and words from magazines that inspire you towards your goals. Glue them on to a piece of paper and then put it on your wall. A vision board is a great inspirational reminder, especially if you place it somewhere you can see everyday.
Remember that you can always start again.
Let's face it. There might be a point where you do something that doesn't support your goals. That's okay. The struggle you experience is a sign that you're in the land of the in-between... in-between the old ways of acting and the new ways of being. You realize you have a choice, and you can always start again. Too often, people throw in the towel altogether. Chalk this up as a learning experience and re-focus.

What are some other ways that help you stick to your new year's resolutions? Do you even make any at all? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Here's to an amazing new year, and an amazing new you!

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5 Tips for Getting Enough Rest

12/11/2014

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We're about ten days or so away from the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year here in the northern hemisphere. If you're feeling the call to go into hibernation, don't be surprised. The body has a way of adjusting and acclimating to the earth's cycles.

One of the biggest problems I've heard from clients in the last two weeks is a resistance to rest. There's so much to do...work demands, family obligations, holiday shopping, travel planning, winter parties. Plus, some are already on the bandwagon to start off 2015 with new year's resolutions ready to go!

Even I got caught up in it. I'm finishing up my last semester at the Pacific School of Religion and I'm up to my eyeballs in final papers and projects, not to mention maintaining my spiritual life coaching practice. You know what happened? I got sick with the flu. It kept me in bed for over a week and I'm still recuperating.

This is why taking time to rest is so important. If you don't make a conscious space to give yourself a chance to renew yourself, sometimes your body will move in to make the decision for you.

So here's a few tips I'd like to offer to help you build some rest time in your life:

Create bedtime rituals that put you in a restful mood. Take a break from the tv or your smartphone about 30 minutes before you plan to sleep. Meditate. Drink some soothing tea. Drop a couple notes in your gratitude jar or write in your gratitude journal.

Plan for regular 1-3 minute breaks for every hour of your day. It's easy to get caught up in work and let the time fly by. Pretty soon, though, you might find your body stooping over the computer or your back hurting. Gt up a do a stretch. Take a quick walk around. Sit and meditate for a full minute. Take a moment to pray.

Do some exercise. This might seem counterintuitive to resting, but exercise allows the blood in your body to circulate and frees up energy where it might be blocked. After exercise, you'll feel more rejuvenated. Plus a little bit of physical exhaustion will help you sleep better.

Get a massage. Massages help to relax you and to put aside any worries of the day. Plus, studies show that massages help release the hormones serotonin and dopamine that help you to feel more at ease.

Take some time to connect with people and/or animal companions close to you. Spending time with others you care about is a great way to remember the presence of love always around you.

Pick one of these tips and work it into your schedule. Then add more as you get comfortable with them. The point here is to begin to make rest a conscious habit that you incorporate into your daily life.

If you have other tips for rest that work for you, let me know by leaving a comment below.

Here's to your journey to rest, renewal and revitalization!

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How was 2014 for you? Reflection as a spiritual practice

12/4/2014

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December is a special month. The days are shorter, the weather a little colder, and a warm, comforting bed looks a lot more inviting than usual.

A lot of people focus so much on the do-ing in this time period, whether it's buying gifts for loved ones for the holidays, figuring out travel plans, or you're already gearing up for the new year.

In the middle of all the holiday hub-bub, I invite you to take a moment to reflect, to think back on 2014 with a greater sense of awareness, loving-kindness and celebration. Reflection can be a useful spiritual practice because you take the time to breathe, you see how you've grown, you notice how you've loved, and you get to give yourself a hug for the times when things didn't go according to plan.

For your coaching assignment this week, take out your journal and ponder these questions:

Bring to mind each of the months of the year, starting with January, then February, all the way up to December. What were some of your special moments? Challenging times? Breakdowns and breakthroughs?
In what ways did you grow? What hurdles did you overcome? What milestones did you reach?
How did you show up in the world? Where did you share your light and love with others? In what ways did you care for yourself?
If you had to come up with a word, a phrase or an image that captures the year 2014 for you, what would that be?

Take some time to reflect. Acknowledge all that happened in 2014, and see if you can embrace it all. Ask your loved ones some of these questions and share with each other. Answer these questions with your co-workers. Bring the spiritual practice of reflection into all parts of your life.

Here's why reflection is an important spiritual practice:

When you celebrate the joys and delights of life, and when you discern what doesn't serve you, you affirm and declare into Universal Law the life and world that your heart desires.

If you found this week's post enlightening or if it brings up even more questions, leave a comment below. I'd love to hear what you think!

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abundant good blog

5 Ways to Make your New Year's Resolutions Stick

5 Tips for Getting Enough Rest

How was 2014 for you? Reflection as a spiritual practice

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