2012 has come and gone. The confetti of New Year’s Eve celebrations has been cleared away. Now is the time to buckle down and get back to work. Now is the time for resolutions!
The problem with making a resolution after the hustle and bustle of the holidays is the average person has not had any time to rest. Without rest, you cannot reflect. If you haven’t reflected on your life, how can you make a resolution to make it better? So, people jump on the bandwagon with one of the most popular resolutions of all time. To lose weight.
Obviously, I am sympathetic to a person wanting to lose weight. My whole passion is in helping people to overcome their own weight loss challenges. But, true motivation for losing weight does not come at the drop of a ball. It comes after examining your most important reasons for why you want lose to lose weight. Without a proper call to action, you won’t have what it takes to achieve your goals. My own call to action was the result of death in the family, at the end of the year. There was no need for me to wait until January to change my life for the better.
It’s ironic that resolutions happen in the midst of winter. During winter, all of nature sleeps in preparation for the busy springtime. In contrast to this, humans go against nature itself, and try to become even more busy. The Chinese pictograph for “busy” is composed of two characters: heart and killing (Muller, 3).
I propose another way of thinking. Instead of focusing on what you can do now, take the whole month of January off. Instead of jumping on whatever bandwagon you can, and ignoring the natural rhythm of winter, spend all of January doing nothing. January should be about rest and reflection.
The New Year doesn’t have to start with frantic activity. Examine what matters most to you. Once February rolls around, you would be able to identify goals worth achieving. An additional bonus to resting throughout January is you won’t burn out by March, like those other people on the resolution bandwagon.
A New Year can be a new you. First, find out what’s great about the old you. Then, rest so you have the energy to pursue your goals. Reflect, Rest, and Resolve. Be resolution-free this January!