The power of New Year
By:Dr Jean Millar , Friday, December 31, 2004
There is nothing like lying in bed against your will, flattened by some “bug” or “disease” to make you review life, current activities and possible improvements in life-style to try and avoid another “out for the count” experience. Last year I exhorted us all to think of the changes we would like to make for 2004, and then not only to apply the changes, but also to continue the trend for the whole year. The prize comes with the sense of success and fulfillment from having kept a healthy promise to yourself! How many of us are stepping up for our prizes this December 31st as we look towards the New Year ahead? Wonderful The wonderful thing about our lives is that every single awakening gives us the opportunity to make the changes we missed last time round. Perhaps you have not lost those extra unhealthy inches, or reduced your alcohol intake, or stopped supporting the tobacco industry, or increased your exercise on a daily basis, or had that important health check. All is not lost, we have got the chance again in 2005! One of the best ways to lose out on the chances for improvement is to convince yourself that since your efforts failed before they are doomed to fail this time. Reflection Perhaps it is worth some quiet reflection on exactly where and when and why you stepped off the success path. Knowing the enemy inside us makes it much easier to defeat the many cunning ways our minds cheat us of success. We have a list of excuses as long as our arms: my family has always been on the big side, my spouse/ friends will not accept any changes I make, secretly feeling “I’m not worth the effort” are but a few. Promises No matter which health promise you make, if you have failed before, try a completely different approach when you start again. Perhaps you can decide to go ‘cold-turkey’ if you always ‘stepped-down’ before, or instead of waiting till everything ‘is just right’ begin immediately. Often it turns out that the timing may endlessly appear to be wrong, (another get-out clause). Power New Year has extra power for change as most of us have traditions of celebration that turn our minds to new beginnings, and our friends and neighbours are more likely to be in an accepting frame of mind. There is a long and ancient history of the celebration of New Year. It is the oldest of all the celebration days that we have now going back about 4000 years. It was at one time in Babylon taken as the time of the first crescent moon after the first day of spring and the revelry continued for eleven days. In the Western world the holiday only goes back about 400 years, as the Christian Church did not approve of the pagan associations. The Chinese and the Jewish people and several others have their own timing for New Year. The sense of starting afresh is felt equally by all regardless of the details of the various traditions. Promises That well known satirist, Jonathan Swift, said that “Promises and piecrust were made to be broken”. Challenge his cynicism this year. Bring in steady winds of change. Complete 2004 having won the health prize promised to yourself.
There is nothing like lying in bed against your will, flattened by some “bug” or “disease” to make you review life, current activities and possible improvements in life-style to try and avoid another “out for the count” experience.
