New Year Do-Over.

Happy New Year by Mykl Roventine

It’s coming! It’s almost here! That special, wonderful day when we get a chance to right the wrongs and fix our mistakes – instantly. New Year’s Day is our “do-over,” day. That chance we had as kids when we made an easy mistake and messed up before we even got started. We’d just shout out “Do Over,” and viola – like magic our mistakes were forgiven and we had a chance for a fresh start.

Our do-over, could range from anything as simple as trashing a bad drawing to re-starting a friendship. No matter how badly we screwed up, we could claim these golden words, and begin again. Do-over’s were a magical, mystical method of fixing anything, at any time, for any reason. Like wiping the chalkboard clean and starting a new problem, “do-over” offered endless possibilities and chances for corrections.

We didn’t learn that “do-over” wasn’t a valid method of fixing errors until we got older and learned that other people could hit a baseball on the first try, or color a picture perfectly within the lines without needing a chance to redo it. We learned that we should be better, faster, quicker and smarter on the first try – without the need to practice first or fix anything.

The problem with this of course, is that it’s completely unrealistic. We’re not all great dancers, talented athletes, or even good readers on our first try. We need help, practice, and a chance to keep trying until we get it right. Or at least to do it better. Do-over is that magic method we need. A chance to work on our flaws, missteps, bloopers and blunders. An opportunity to fix things to the way we’d like them to be.

This year, don’t dread your New Year’s Resolutions and waste time worrying about past mistakes. Instead, imagine how you could do it differently. Create a new mindset and a new idea of yourself. Don’t let current trends and fads guide you. Envision the new you – and then work to make it reality. Just do-it-over.

Work with your strengths. Focusing on your flaws doesn’t make them disappear, and sometimes just makes you feel worse about yourself. If you’re not a morning person and have no energy to get up, no amount of coercion is going to make you a jump out of bed with a smile at 6 a.m. Instead, use that evening energy to get as much done for the next day as possible; make your lunch, pick out your clothes, put your shoes, keys, wallet and ID badge by the door. Make it as easy as possible to start the day off right.

Do-over your idea of yourself. Instead of seeing someone who doesn’t like to exercise, discover the person who loves to use their workout to catch up on the news or favorite sports show. Do-over your ideas about how things have to be done, and try a new way of living. Don’t like the drive to work? Get a satellite radio to make it more enjoyable. Use a tape recorder to brainstorm ideas for your new project. Or train your mind – mull over brain teasers or practice tongue twisters on your way to work. You’ll arrive alert and relaxed.

Above all, remember that whatever mistakes you made yesterday, whatever you messed up, today is a day full of new beginnings and fresh starts. Every day can be a “do-over” day if you need it to be. When you put forth the effort, you will see results. So what will you “do-over” today?

Resolutions You Can Keep.

Welcome to another brand-new year my friends! Like me, you may want to take some time to think about what you want to accomplish this year. Goals you’d like to achieve, places you’d like to visit, habits you’d like to start, and improvements you’d like to make. The beginning of the year is a great time to get a head start on deciding what direction you want to go for the next year. The best place to start is by going over your goals and expectations from last year. Here’s a look at my 2007 Goals:

1. Find out what makes me happy.
2. Become happy with who I am today.
3. Learn about film-editing school.
4. Learn about photo slide shows (of weddings, past memories, birthdays and more).
5. Clear out – if you don’t enjoy it, get rid of it. If you don’t use it, throw it away.
6. Indulge. If you love it – use it, touch it, smell it, play with it. Don’t “save” things for the future. Use it now, tomorrow may never come.
7. Use aroma therapy. Try flower essences. Experiment.
8. Blog every day. Write and try to add give something useful to my blog readers every day. Write down those elusive ideas – those are the best ones.
9. Stop complaining. Stop the whining and complaining. Focus on the positive in my life. Try to go for 24 hours without one complaint. See how it affects the rest of my day.
10. Be tolerant of criticism. Use my own techniques (armor myself, pretend it’s someone else) to keep criticism from getting me down.
11. Volunteer. Doing things for others takes your mind off your own troubles. Volunteer somewhere, even in a library literacy program, just so it helps me be grateful for what I already have.

Now, as you can imagine, I didn’t achieve all of these. For instance, I still complain too much (mostly to my poor husband), I don’t take criticism that well (though I am getting better), and I didn’t get to volunteer or clean up my junk as much as I wanted to.

I did however use my aroma therapy more often – especially the lavender, which is so wonderful for a calm and peaceful mind. I also learned a lot more about what makes me happy and what doesn’t. Plus I did other things that I plan to add to this year list, like having more adventures (flying in a open-air plane and riding my ATV more often), and finding ways to make exercise fun enough to do more often.

In the past 4-5 years, my resolutions have changed dramatically. They’re much more free-flowing and flexible, and they reflect more of what I really want in my life. They’re always short and to the point, and include lots of fun things to keep me motivated. My one flaw is that I only wrote these on the computer and didn’t have them out where I’d see them every day (or at least every week). So this year I plan on printing a copy or two to keep out.

Here’s a few of my favorite goals from 2006:

View failure as fertilizer – it helps you grow!

1. Meditate often –daily if possible.
2. Make more money.
3. Have fun everyday.
4. Stretch for 10 minutes a day.
5. Buy more comedy tapes.
6. Practice eye exercises and try to improve vision. (Vitamins)
7. Worry less.
8. Walk once a day at break time.
9. Practice juggling. It’s fun therapy.

Don’t wait for opportunity to come to you. Look for opportunity.

10. Practice humor every day.
11. Visit someplace you’ve never been.
12. Scan family pictures to computer and save on disk.
13. Read cartoon books –Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, Far Side.
14. Practice Reiki and energy healing.
15. Pray for others.
16. Memorize acupressure points – especially for pain, headache, anxiety and tiredness.

The secret to happiness is: a good sense of humor and a bad memory.

If you’re like me and love making lists, and writing down your brilliant ideas, think about making a list of goals for yourself. I don’t have to write down my goals by January 1, January 31, or any set deadline. I just write them down as they come to me. Make your goals varied, some very easily obtainable, others harder to do. Make sure to add things in that really excite you and make you feel want to run out and start now.

Make your list fun too. Add a few favorite quotes, put it on colored paper, or write a suggestion that makes you smile or laugh every time you read it. When your goals are truly about you, and making your life fuller, more satisfying and happier, you won’t struggle to do them. Find the things that bring you joy and happiness and do those first, and the other items will fall into place.

I’d love to hear back from anyone on their goals and dreams for the next year. What positive habits do you want to start? What Good luck everyone – and Happy New Year!!!