Happy New Year!  Let’s get comfy for a few moments, shall we?  Pour yourself your favorite beverage, relax into your chair and let’s talk about New Year’s resolutions.  Most of you know me pretty well by now and you know how I feel about struggle and pushing and striving and being productive….these activities are joy suckers.  I DO NOT want you to head into this beautiful new year with all of its shiny possibilities without a full tank of joy!

Consider these two approaches for a moment:

Approach #1

Determine that there is something “wrong” with you or that you need to “fix” something about yourself or your life.  Set resolutions to correct what is “wrong” or needs to be “fixed” (ie: lose weight, get fit, eat healthy food, etc).  Run out of will power by the second week of January.  Give up, feel like a failure and struggle through the rest of the year.

Approach #2

Determine that you are exactly perfect just as you are and that nothing about you is lacking or needs fixing.  Fall in love with yourself right in this moment.  Choose ideas, activities and themes that delight, engage and inspire you.  Reach the end of December feeling light-hearted, fulfilled and joyful.

Which approach appeals to you?  I like number two and here are a few reasons why:

• You’re not starting with a lack mentality (which just continues to attract more lack)
• You are loving yourself which is great for your confidence and self-esteem
• You are orienting around joy and the energy of joy makes whatever you are doing sustainable in the long run
• Having a theme gives you possibilities for outcomes that may be even better than you could have thought of yourself
• It’s easier to remember a theme than a list of things that you may have to struggle through

Ask yourself “what would I love to do in 2013” and use this list for your resolutions.  Stop thinking about all the things that you think you should be doing and choose what would leave you feeling giddy with excitement.  Be creative, use your imagination, write down some wild, out of the box ideas.  Last year I wrote down ‘join the circus’ just because it made me think differently about the year ahead.  A few months later I found myself taking a trapeze lesson….so, you see, anything can happen when you focus on joy.  All of that other stuff will get done – it always does – but usually at the expense of the activities that make you happiest.  This year, resolve to play more, laugh everyday, join the circus, learn underwater basket weaving, buy your groceries using one letter of the alphabet each week….the possibilities are endless thus making your joy unlimited!  I’d love to hear what your resolutions might be…leave a comment below or on my Facebook page so that you can inspire others to more joy in 2013!  Happy New Year!