We're just hours away from closing the books on another year. Many of us will be making new year resolutions to bring about a better life and a greater sense of accomplishment but the unfortunate reality is that many of those resolutions will fail. Not for a lack of desire, mind you, but rather because deep down we really don't believe we can do them.
Many resolutions are pretty common and tangible - lose weight, run a 10K or marathon, eat better, read more. Nothing wrong with any of those. But as we all know the most frustrating thing about new year resolutions is that more often than not we don't achieve them and as the end of the year rolls around there's that little pang of guilt and sadness that eats away at our spirit.
So why do so many resolutions fail? I think the problem lies more within our hearts and minds rather than our resolve. In life you really can't accomplish anything unless your heart and mind are fully committed to the task. In the pursuit of happiness our heart and the mind are the two greatest assets we have but they are also our biggest obstacles. On the one hand they can drive our passions but just as equally they slam the brakes on us whenever we consider taking on something new.
Opening our minds and hearts to new possibilities is the first step in achieving joy in our lives. The images of ourselves that we've created or our perceptions of the world must be completely challenged. We need to take into serious question who we are and what we think the world is all about. That's not always easy. Over the years our insecurities have created our perceptions and we wear those perceptions like a worm blanket on a cold night. Younger people are shackled by an image they're trying to maintain. Older folks are trying to avoid yet another situation that more than likely will end in failure.
We don't pursue our dreams because we've convinced ourselves we aren't good enough or smart enough and more importantly we hold onto false truths about who we are. For 2016 I would resolve to challenge any previous "truths" you might have about yourself and your world. Forget what others might think of you or what you think of yourself. Allow your heart and your mind to be open to ALL possibilities.
When you start understanding what's really true and what's really important to you then any goals you might set for yourself will be far easier to achieve. Your mind, body and spirit will finally be in harmony and you will see that life is an adventure rather than a sentence. No matter how long you've walked this earth, no matter what your life experiences may have been, I believe pure joy is available for everyone who reads this because the joy already exists within YOU!
Happy New Year my friends!
