The new year approaching feels very different for me for some reason, and I'm not quite sure why, except to say I see something that is badly needed in the lives of so many different people I cross each day....including mine.........and that is change. I believe as much as change is a part of our everyday life, most of us tend to focus on things staying the same, because making a change, or in this case starting a new habit, requires that we let something go in order to start something new. Hmmmm...you say.....sounds like work to me. Why would I want to add something to the list of things I can't keep up with already? Well, it might surprise you, and a pleasant one at that, that making a change of some kind, starting new habits, can actually help you navigate more freely in this life.
I think that so many of us are confused as to how you find that precious commodity....time. You allow yourself to easily get caught up in how you spend your money.......making sure you're up to date with the rest of your friends, neighbors.....the world. Gadgets and passtimes that are not only extravigant, but costly as well. Now I realize it sounds as if I'm getting ready to lecture about money, but you can put your calculators and checkbooks away.....for that's not the case. I would rather focus on how we get caught up in spending money as a habit on things that are not necessarily good for us, or even meaningful. So many things we do are an effort to fill up time and space.....not because we really enjoy what we're doing. In other words, it's something that society made you think you needed or wanted, and before you knew what hit you, you were on the same road........doing, wanting, and spending money for the same things without even being aware of what you were doing.
Sort of like reading these blogs. You were on the merry-go-round, going so fast that when you looked out, it was just a blurr, where you couldn't recognize what was happening, how long you had been on there, or more importantly why. All you wanted was to get off for a while, but you didn't know how because you had been on for so long. You were caught up in staying on because everyone else was on it, and if you got off, you felt like you would lose your place, or your friends. It seemed like the thing to do, for you kept seeing others jump on, so you felt it was your responsibility to jump aboard yourself. Then out of nowhere......you started reading this and started asking yourself questions about your life, your focus, your time.......etc. Well.....it's bound to happen. I was endlessly roaming the earth until something or someone caught my attention, and I knew, without a doubt that something had to change, even though I wasn't sure at the time what that was..........just knew I had to get off the merry-go-round and catch my breathe.
Now I would imagine that by now you're asking yourself what habits need to be nipped in the bud, and what new ones needs to be added. I could very easily start a list if you'd like. Maybe some of them will ring a bell.
1. Smoking
2. Overeating
3. No exercise
4. Negative attitude
5. Porn
6. Lying
7. Being abusive
8. Spending money you don't have
9. Living beyond your means
10. Not spending time with family
11. Watching too much television
12. Being late
13. Not being thankful for anything
14. Drinking
Well...I'll stop there....and see how many resonate with you. Habits.......and as you can see, they are basically all self-focused. Having what you want, when you want it and how you want it.....with no understanding that there is nothing positive at the end of those roads if you continue to stay on them. All of them say to the world, I am important, because I have this now, because it makes me feel good and superior......but it has nothing to do with offering anything to the outside world .....it says you are only interested in what makes you feel good. As long as you get to have, keep, or experience something for yourself, then that's all you're interested in. No matter the cost to you, or more profoundly, to someone else in your life......you want the goods, whatever they are.
No wonder everyone has a hard time sleeping.... with that attitude. How can anything good come from it? How can anyone ever experience peace, joy, or contentment in this world, when we pull inward, instead of reaching outward.....hanging on for dear life those things that we profess we could never change, for after all........our life would be perfect if everyone else would change around us.
We all wanted a new president, and hopefully this one will bring change, because I truly believe if we don't at least try to do something to promote change....change on so many different levels, we will all continue to go broke, lose our homes, die from obesity, lose our families to our addictions, and continue to see our lives as one of lacking instead of embracing one of abundance.
I have heard that a new habit takes 30 days to take root in your life, and at that point, it's like brushing your teeth each day. You don't even have to think about it...you just do it. All it takes is the desire and the decision to make the choice to change something in your life you know is not good, healthy or destructive. As the drug ad says.......JUST SAY NO!!!!
You've already been thinking about it.....but for whatever reason can't find the motivation to stop. Well.......it's January 2009.......how many more years do you want to be a slave to your habit, no matter what it is? If you need help....seek help. If you need a reason....find a good reason. But you can be sure of one thing.........change is coming, you can either be a part of it......or turn your head and ignore the signs.
So ask yourself for once......what can I expect to gain from my habit? Does it make me feel good or good and guilty? What am I jeopardizing in my life if I continue? What could I hang onto that is good in this life if I let go of just one bad habit this year? Or what wonderful surprise would I be blessed with if I started a good and healthy habit?
That's up to you I suppose.
