Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Think about Resolutions, Set Goals

This post is NOT about food so you can stop reading now if that's all you came for.

My yoga teacher always has a well thought out "word of the week." This week it is resolution. For me sitting with nothing to think about except my breath and getting my spine to extend provides an opportunity to tune in to Clare's words and absorb their meaning; not always profound but often food for thought.

Did you ever realize that the world resolution has the word SOLUTION in it? I never gave it a thought. But now I will. Clare says that we already have the solutions but need to put them into practice. And that's what yoga and life are all about - practice without having to be perfect.

Many of you know that I prefer to set goals rather than make resolutions, which might change now that I realize the solution in resolutions. Rather than toss them to the wayside, perhaps making only one resolution and a good plan for following it would suffice for most of us.

At this time of year, I like to look back on the past year and see what happened, absorb it, spit out what I don't need to hang on to and move on. The present is a gift that you give to yourself so stay focused on now and make a plan for the future.

Here's a link to a piece that I wrote on setting goals. I am still formulating what I have in mind for my personal goals for 2010. Since I am a work in progress (and hope that we all are), I don't have to have these done by January 1st but I do recommend writing down your goals and looking at them periodically. Once a month works for me.

I hope that your goals will include taking care of yourself because money can't buy health. If you need help doing it, check in with me. My goal is to inspire you so that you can inspire other people.

Happy New Year.

6 comments:

Young At Heart said...

I like the idea of goals rather than resolutions too.
Somehow resolutions sound so - resolute! Not flexible. I have always written my goals down and find it a more beneficial way to go for me. Love your work and love of life!
Happy 2010

Ann Carranza said...

I thought, as I was reading this blog post, that perhaps another way to view the word resolution is as

Re solution (as in "another" solution)

and vision it as a distinct method to tweak the previous "solution" to create one that might be more precise and have a better chance of success.

The Veggie Queen said...

Thanks for the comments.

Ann, my teacher said that we each have the solution already. I guess that it's our mission to figure out what to do that serves us best.

I often ask myself, "How does this serve me?" when I feel less than stellar.

Happy New Year, with goals in mind.

Rebecca said...

Great post and wonderful advice, Jill--Happy New Year and best 're-solutioning' to you. Rebecca Caro

Earth Fare said...

This is a great post. It is a great way to look at resolutions, and empowering to know that we already have the solutions. We believe this and believe in goal-setting at Earth Fare. It is our mission to feed and inspire the healthy person inside us all -- there is a healthy person inside us all and with baby steps, we can live healthier, transformed lives. Thank you for inspiring people to live healthy lives!

Unknown said...

Hey Jill! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I really like everything you are about and can't wait to read more! It always interests me how much language shapes how we feel and what we do. Because seeing the "solution" in resolution shifted my perspective of making new year's resolutions; I, too, choose the word 'goal' instead. And this post reminded me that I need to check in with them more often.