1/2/05: Once a year or once a day, you choose

Too many people only look at their lives once a year and spend the remaining 11 months or more on auto-pilot, living lives of repetition and regurgitation of outworn habits that no longer serve them. And then they wonder why they are unhappy.

Resolutions come and go. Today is the second day of the new year. How many of you have already broken or altered your resolutions? How many of you haven't even started yet? How many of you have decided that your resolution was too strict, and maybe you can do it every other day instead of every day as you originally planned?

I have a friend who, every year, resolves to lose 10 pounds. In January she is motivated, has a positive attitude and jump starts her year by going to the gym. Some years, she loses the 10 pounds. Some years, she doesn't. But what has been a constant in the many years I have known her, by December (just in time to reflect upon her life again & make another resolution), she has gained those pounds back. It is a never-ending cycle. Until she resolves to change her mind on a continuous and consistent basis, her weight will not change.  

We must reflect upon our lives not just once a year, but once a day, in the very least. If we want to make any kind of lasting change in our lives, we must pay attention to our thoughts, feelings and actions as often as we can. We must be aware of our intentions, not just once a year, but all the time. We must make resolutions, every day, to lead a happier, healthier life than the day before, not the year before. Inner awareness is one of the most powerful steps to happiness.

We must form the habit of awareness in every moment. Only then can we transform our lives and have true and lasting resolve.