Don't Just Set a Resolution...Be Resolutionary!

Most of us have realized from painful experience that lasting change rarely occurs as a result of a New Year's Resolution. Why is it that we are so often incapable of becoming the person we want to be? Too often, resolutions are inspired by fear and are set up as self-imposed expectations that reinforce the gulf between who we think we are and who we think we want to be. It is time to establish our resolutions from a deeper place; 2010 is a year of deepening. People are beginning to understand the profound nature of the present moment and will begin taking action from this place. Rather than another New Year's Resolution, now is the time to become Resolutionary.

Reaction or Resolution?

In many cases our resolution is inspired by a negative self-image adopted from society or an influential voice in our lives. For example, we compare our bodies to those we see in the media and decide the way we look is bad. The pain from this comparison becomes the fuel for our change. The resolution is not sustainable and we end up in that familiar negative spiral that reinforces the unworthiness that inspired the resolution in the first place.

Gratitude: The Power of the Resolutionary

The resolutionary recognizes gratitude as the true power behind sustainable transformation. Chis Walker told me once "Don't leave anything until you love it." This is great advice rooted in the awareness that love is more empowering than fear. Love and gratitude are intertwined. The Resolutionary uses self-love as the inspiration behind this path of living transformation. The traditional resolution is based on fear and limitation and lacks fundamental acceptance. Be grateful for the miracle of your body and and allow the spontaneous gratitude for this sacred mystery to fuel your growth and expansion in 2010.

From Expectation to Anticipation

The old-school resolution is a self-imposed expectation and expectation is the root of all evil. OK, that may be dramatic but spend some time contemplating the possibility the expectations you put on yourself and those you place on others are the heart of the suffering that creeps into your life day by day. Expectation states that we will be "happy when...". Expectation is one of the root problems with the New Year's resolution. Let me introduce a new word to replace the thorny and insidious seed of suffering known as expectation. This word frees us from the dependence on some future event to be OK with ourselves and instead brings us back to the present moment. To access the present moment there is a requirement for a deep sense of acceptance and honesty, this is the starting point for a life-altering New Year's Resolution. This new word that holds the seed of freedom and guides the Resolutionary back to the moment of now is ANTICIPATION. The official definition describes anticipation as "pre-sentiment or pre-knowledge". Anticipation brings us immediately into the experience of our resolution rather than emphasizing the gulf between where we are now and where we hope to be as is the case with expectation.

A Resolutionary Practice

In order to anticipate we must make the experience of fulfillment real in our minds and bodies. Consider this an invitation to imagine the greatest version of yourself for 2010. The Resolutionary takes time to sit in silence and practice gratitude. Give yourself the gift of 5 minutes per day to sit and breathe with awareness and simply be grateful. Let gratitude flood your body soaking every cell with liquid light. Even now, you can simply breathe with awareness, relax the body, allow the mind to be and reconnect with the Source of life, with your Beloved. Gratitude is the mystical power that fuels authentic transformation and is the direct experience of your own essence. Gratitude is the fuel of the Resolutionary, fill up every single day and soon you will be filling up with every single breath.

Don't wait for some future moment to be the highest version of yourself. The future is a fantasy and the past is over; the Resolutionary realizes their transformation here and now. May this year be full of transformative moments and big-time gratitude. To all the Resolutionaries out there, I wish you a very HAPPY NOW YEAR!!