It’s like going through your closet and deciding what to keep or toss. Bad habits and dysfunctional behavior are like the skinny jeans that you just have a really hard time getting rid of, even though they clearly do not fit. So interesting, that we can know for a fact that something we do really doesn’t work for us anymore, yet we keep going back to that behavior.
So when someone said to me, ‘I want to CHOOSE HAPPINESS…’, as a goal for the coming year, we took a moment to explore. The truth is that our energy simply follows our focus; it’s like throwing a ball – it goes wherever you are looking (unless you’re me, in which case it invariably hits someone in the head.) Even when people say something like, ‘I don’t want to argue anymore,’ the focus is still on arguing. Are you with me? It’s different to say, “I’d like us to speak to each other in respectful tones, with supportive words’ because you are focused on what you want rather than what you don’t want in your relationship. Your actions will certainly follow.
In choosing happiness, you acknowledge that difficult stuff will come up, but you will look for the lesson or the benefit in it. Maybe you will get to practice slowing down, or asking for help; maybe you will reach out for support, not only logistical, but emotional as well. It seems like happiness is invariably about letting go of something, rather than acquiring something. I loved this as a goal for 2012 – Choose Happiness.
What about you?
What are your goals? What has gotten in your way in the past? How can you clear some of that?
What items in your ‘Emotional Closet’ no longer work for you? What are the ones that make you feel like the person you really are, inside?!
I’m actually up for this challenge, myself. I think I have a Rainbow Brite-esque sweater that worked well in Berkeley, but would never fly in NY – metaphorically speaking of course.
I will post links to content in the next two weeks, taking off from actually writing posts to enjoy time with friends and family. Please do check them out – they’re a couple of great articles/words that I love for this time of year.
I am full of gratitude for all of you following this blog, for your comments and emails – I wholeheartedly wish you a holiday of close connections and total joy in the coming days.
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