New Year's is always the time we look toward the future and think about what we want to change in our lives. Do we want to lose weight, stop smoking, or spend more time with our families?
I always greet the New Year with excitement at the possibilities that lie ahead. Ironically, this attitude happened shortly after I swore off New Year's Resolutions. After a lifetime of making solemn oaths every January 1-usually it was to lose weight-I realized that not once did I ever make it to February without returning to my old habits. Despite my best efforts, my New Year's Resolutions just never seemed to work.
But I found something that did and that's why I'm excited every New Year. Awhile back, I came up with a practice that really works to evoke desired changes in my life. Instead of making New Year's Resolutions, at the start of every year, I create a set of New Year's Intentions.
Set Intentions.
So what is a New Year's Intention? It's a two part practice I developed from my years of spiritual studies that allows me to accept spiritual help in the areas I want to improve. First, I write down the change I want to see in my life and then I do a visualization.
Here's an example. Last year my New Year's Intention was to improve my health. Now that may seem odd coming from the author of The Positive Portions Food & Fitness Journal but it's true. Even though I was exercising regularly and eating my fair share of veggies, whole grains, and proteins, I wasn't performing at my best.
I was plagued by chronic tiredness, a feeling like I could go back to bed and sleep for hours after I just work up. My mind was fuzzy and I had constant pain underneath my right shoulder blade that wasn't responding to massage therapists or physical therapy. Whenever I tried to exercise, my shoulder blade would flare up and I'd have to take painkillers and/or muscle relaxers.
Visualize.
In January 2009, I wrote down the things I wanted to improve in my life: I wanted more energy, greater mental clarity, and freedom from pain. After I wrote these things down, I followed it up with a visualization where I imagined turning these things over to the Universe.
My "turn it over" visualization entails sitting with my eyes closed and imagining myself walking down a corridor with shut doors on either side, such as in a hotel. As I walk down the corridor, I see doors with signs on them that list the areas I want to see improvement in. In this case, I saw three doors with signs that read "Tiredness" on one, "Brain Fog" on the other, and "Shoulder" on the third.
I imagine myself opening the doors with the signs on them. As I open the doors, light pours in from the hallway, through the doorway and into the room. By me opening the doors and allowing light to enter, I am symbolically allowing the Universe to work its magic and find solutions to my issues.
Eat Well, Feel Great.
At first nothing happened. I still felt tired and fuzzy and my shoulder still hurt. Around June, however, I was talking to my friend Suzy whose lean physique and glowing skin I admired. We were discussing our food plans, and she mentioned the litany of foods that she didn't eat, such as dairy, artificial sweeteners, and most grains. She explained that she was following a plan prescribed by her nutritionist.
"Wow," I said, both impressed and intimidated. "Don't you miss those foods?"
"Not at all," she said. "Now I feel so good that it's worth it."
Okay, that did it. I demanded the nutritionist's number and called her right away.
Working intensely with the nutritionist over the next few months, I was able to get in touch with my body on a deeper level. I learned to pay attention to the feedback and signals it was giving me. I realized that whereas I might have liked certain foods-like caffeine, dairy and soy-my body didn't. I replaced the foods that didn't work with my body for ones that did.
The result? After a few months, my energy increased, my mental clarity soared, and I feel better than I have in years. I can make it through weekends without having to take a three-hour naps and I feel clear and alert.
Pump Iron, Lose Pain.
The next "happy accident" occurred around July. I walked into my gym after not having been there for months wondering what I could do that wouldn't flare up my shoulder. That day, the gym happened to be a offering free one-time session with a personal trainer. Since I'm a sucker for free stuff, I signed up. A week later I got a call.
"Hi," said what sounded like a young man with a slight Texas drawl, "Ah'm Jay. Ah see you signed up for a personal training session. Ah'll be your trainer."
Jay might have been young but he knew his stuff. "Ah already know what's wrong with you," he said within minutes of meeting me. "You need to add ten pounds of muscle. Your joints have no protection."
And adding muscle is exactly what we proceeded to do for the rest of the year. Jay turned out to be the perfect trainer for me. Under Jay's direction, I've pumped iron, increased my flexibility, and learned to stretch properly.
The result? Miraculously, I am no longer in pain. I can do all of the activities I love to do, such as yoga, spinning, and aerobics without having flare ups. I am no longer in physical therapy and I don't have to take painkillers or muscle relaxers to make it through the day.
Let the Universe Do the Heavy Lifting.
If you'll notice, when I set my New Year's Intention, never once did I resolve to hire a nutritionist or a personal trainer. I simply set the intention of wanting more energy, greater clarity, and less pain. Then I turned it over to the Universe to work out the details. It's a practice I've been doing for a few years now and it really works.
If there are areas you'd like to change, I encourage you to set a New Year's Intention rather than make a New Year's Resolution in 2010.
Shannon Hammer is a communications professional who lives in Redondo Beach, California, with her husband, Mark Christopher (MC) Hammer. The Positive Portions Food & Fitness Journal is her first book. For more information, go to positiveportions.com positiveportions.com. Article is copyright Shannon Hammer.
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