Archive for January, 2011

The first response to the month of January is to set resolutions, goals, and/or intentions for the New Year, right?  All well and good.  I’m all for it.

But what if your “new” goals are just piling up on top of last year’s goals and resolutions?  What if this year’s resolutions feel like they’re more of a burden or a wish list than anything doable and motivating?  Hmmmm.  I invite you to reflect on that for a minute.

Sometimes we fall into the unconscious habit of using January to add to our already hectic lives.  And I am indeed referring to both our hectic external lives as well as our hectic internal lives.  And then we wonder why we feel so BLAH about everything.  We wonder why we feel so overwhelmed and resistant (well, I do, anyway) just about now.

And then roughly a month later many of our resolutions and good intentions are sitting by the wayside, nothing more than rapidly receding distant memories.

Well, no more!

What about using January to LET GO of whatever you’re carrying around from last year, or even from the last decade?

What about thinking of January as a fresh start?

A clean slate.  Not one that we’ll immediately fill up with the new resolutions.
No, this clean slate is meant to stay clean for a little while.  Let’s give ourselves some breathing space.  Let’s only fill it up when we’re ready.

Let’s bask in a month or two of not striving, not achieving, not working overtime to meet our goals.

What do you think?  Does that sound too scary?  Or does it sound freeing?  And maybe even a little bit like you might feel less burdened and less blah-ed out?

I encourage you to reflect on your goals and intentions for this year.  Take some time to see if there is anything that you’d be better served by letting it go than by keeping it on your list.

Take a look at your list of goals and intentions.  Then identify something that you didn’t do last year and that you automatically put back on the list again this year.  Remove that item from the list.  Don’t panic.  You can always put it back on the list in the future.  But give it a try.

See if letting go of just that one thing doesn’t free you up and let you feel like January is indeed a fresh start.  I dare you!

Here’s to letting go … for a fresh start!
~Margie