“YOUR MEMORY REPLAYS YOUR PAST; YOUR IMAGINATION PRE-PLAYS YOUR DESTINY.”
You’ve heard the adage: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” What meaning does it have to you? What’s more, how might it make a difference in your life? It appears to be that many of us are continually waiting for an “extraordinary” time frame to start something new, even though we know it’s something that we really want to and even need to do. However, we don’t have to wait for New Year’s Day to set goals or aims. We don’t have to trust that by September we will start gaining some new useful knowledge. Life is an opportunity for growth and there is always an opportunity available to make a change. Every day and every hour is a chance to start something new. Try thinking about a particular day of the week or the first day of every month as your designated starting line for whatever race you need to run.
If the thought of taking on something new seems daunting, there are a few things you can do to put yourself in the right mindset. First, you can slow down your breathing and concentrate on taking deep, even breaths. This will automatically put your mind and body in a more relaxed state. Meditation is a way to further enhance this state of relaxation. Concentrate on your breaths, clear your mind, and take a few minutes to simply be.
Yoga educator and author Fred L. Miller proposes that when you encounter stress, you should suck on a LifeSaver, focusing on the flavor and resisting the impulse to bite until the experience leaves you feeling more quiet and serene (Miller). I’ve observed that the same thing works with any food or beverage that can be savored. Whether it’s sweets, your favorite snack, or a refreshment, just sit down, close your eyes and partake in the sensations it brings. Relish the taste, the surface, and the temperature. Enjoy each part of it and reflect on your capacity to appreciate it. Gratitude also creates a sense of relaxation and positivity – more of what you need!
If you’re feeling trapped in a hopeless cycle and yet not certain how you might change things, author and business visionary Nora Dunn offers a basic exercise to combat this. Start by switching off all interruptions, including the telephone, PC, and TV, and lock yourself in a tranquil spot where you can focus. Sit down with a blank sheet of paper and set a timer for 20 minutes. As quickly as possible, write down 100 things you need to do, goals you need to achieve, and people you need to meet. There are no restrictions here. Try not to be practical. Think beyond typical boundaries. Record the most insane things you can imagine, as well as the things that ordinarily go without saying because they are so basic. Write down everything. Make sure you don’t invest energy in debating whether or not you should add a particular item to the list – it probably won’t make sense at that point, but the thought is to simply continue writing in a stream-of-consciousness style until the timer goes off. After about 10 or 15 minutes, you will truly open your internal innovation (“Feeling Stuck?”).
When you’ve finished the exercise, look over the list. Consider this a source of inspiration rather than a firm commitment. You may find a thought or two out of those 100 items that will truly permit you to make a change in your life. Once you’ve identified a goal, pick a day – or another hour, week, or month – to get everything rolling. Don’t simply make a goal or a guarantee to yourself. Set a reasonable aim to make it happen, and afterwards, commit to carrying out your thought. Remember, trusting yourself to follow through a practice of self-love.
Today is the day you can accomplish something else. You can accomplish something that could make the remainder of your life better than you have even envisioned.
