Both, I hope!

Did you ever notice in sports that the athletes cross themselves and point to the sky when they hit a home run or score a goal or a touchdown?

You never see that when they’ve hit a single, caught (or thrown) a 5 yard pass, or kicked the ball down the field.

Why is that? Why don’t we celebrate the little things as well as the big ones?

What do you do every day that you just take for granted or don’t think is very important in the grand scheme of things?

I know I will never take another painless step without immense joy and gratitude. It’s made me think about all the other things that make up my day and how amazing they all are, especially when taken as a whole.

I’m writing this on a laptop. As I think back to the disaster manual I once created and typed on a typewriter, I thank the Universe for the blessing of technology. I cringe at the pain I felt hammering out each word (and correcting each error) on that old thing. How often have I just picked up my laptop and not even thought about it. But I never hesitate to complain when some program doesn’t work the way I think it should. I’m definitely going to change my focus about that.

To help you get a glimpse of some of these things, remember a time when the power went out and you were either at home or in a store. How many things don’t work? What can’t you do that you wanted to do – such as checking out of the store – no one knows how to do that when the computer is down anymore.

Make a habit of taking time to celebrate the little things as well as the big things!

Mine are “Patience” and “Memory”.

Last year it was “Growth” and amazingly enough, it was a year of great growth.

This last 8 weeks trying to let my stress fracture heal has required a lot of patience and it’s not over yet. So, today I thought that this must be the lesson I am to learn for the coming year.

As for the second word, memory, I was writing a phrase “given my memory” when I realized that this will be a year for my memory. it will improve and there will be many wonderful memories. It’s great when you can apply one word to multiple meanings!

Make your words focal points in your activities. Periodically reflect on them (use my reflection journal to help with that).

Share your words (or maybe just one) with us if you feel like it…It will be fun to see what each person feels is so important they can put it in a single word.

Happy New Year!

All the talk about goals and resolutions makes me bored.

I don’t really know why we focus on one particular day just because we turn another page in the calendar….I know that’s Scrooge thinking but it sort of diminishes the importance of all the other days in the year, doesn’t it?

Anyway, I thought there has to be a better way to go about your year. I decided that focusing on what you WANT is a great way to keep going in a positive direction.

So, instead of listing goals and resolutions solely (if it works for you, keep using it), why not write down a list of the things you want. These can be long term wants (to be a billionaire) or short term wants (I want to get into Vol State for 2023). But they should be things that when you think about them make you smile and feel happy.

“I want to be healthy” works much better inside of you than saying “I don’t want to be sick”.

When you’ve listed your wants, go through the list and remove the frivolous ones you just jotted down. Pick out the ones that really get your excitement levels up. Maybe they are your “Wow!” wants. Maybe they are your “this would really be special” wants. Or even “this would really make life a lot simpler for me” wants. Whatever your wants, focus on them. Make the list something you think would be do-able for the year. For instance break down the “I want to be a billionaire” into the things that will get you there. Not the same as the chunking for goal setting where the chunks are really small. These breakdowns will bring you joy!

Once you have your list, print it out, post it on your bathroom mirror or the refrigerator or somewhere where you’ll look at it often. Make a conscious effort daily to read the list, stopping to smile at each one. Play with this concept. Create visual images of you achieving each one. Make it a part of you.

Joy is a limited commodity nowadays. We can generate our own internal joy with listing our wants. Let the oxytocin begin to build up in your system and you’ll experience more happiness.

If you’re bored with goals and resolutions, like me, this is worth a try!