Thoughts on Yoga
The Only Resolution There Is
2007-01-05
Everyone's been asking me if I have any New Year's resolutions. I have been waiting for a short list of resolutions to emerge. But so far, I've only come up with one.
It's not that I don't know that there is always room for improvement. I don't kid myself that I'm done with resolutions.
I think of myself as "The Resolution Queen." Year in and year out, I have honed the skills: 1) identify areas of concern;2)develop strategies for improvement; 3) set specific goals that focus on specific behaviors ; 4)write everything down; 5)review goals and behaviors to make sure they are compatible; 6)acknowledge any and all successes.
I highly recommend this method for creating growth and change. It has worked for me year after year. There is nothing you can't accomplish if you do these steps again and again.
If you are like me and a little at a loss for self-improvement ideas, there is one resolution that puts all the others on perspective: Peace.
No matter who you are, having more peace is always a great idea. I think that underneath everything, we all crave peace. So many of our struggles are really struggles for peace.
Peace, like its sibling happiness, is an "inside job." It comes from inside you and radiates outward. People who know this truth have a great gift. They set about learning the ways of thinking and being that create peace in their hearts and in the hearts of others.
Such an individual deliberately seeks out people, places and things that create a feeling of peace. He or she takes this energy and shares it with others who are less peaceful. By doing this again and again, this person becomes a wellspring of peace for the world at large.
Never believe that your private thoughts and feelings begin and end with you. It is a terrible mistake to think that your meditation, yoga and other peace-cultivating efforts are selfish. By becoming an expert at feeling peaceful, you give a priceless gift to the entire world.