Happy belated 2019! Can't believe it's already here. Can't believe it's already the
8th 15th 22nd 29th of January. Can't believe how many times I've been interrupted trying to get this newsletter our the door.
But it's a perfect topic for the New Year's musing.
As we say here in Silicon Valley (and New York and all other busy cities), "oh, busy is good!" Yes, but not this busy. You need time to think, and to just be.
We did that over the holidays. Unplugged for a few days at geothermal springs up in Napa. Soaking in the mineral-rich waters really does something to your mind and body. For an entire week after we came back, I could still feel that silky, nourishing aaahhhh that infuses literally every cell in your body. No wonder doctors used to prescribe mineral baths for various ailments (are you listening, Western medical world?). Somehow we forgot about that (or rather, were made to forget about it) but it's coming back. The place where we stayed was packed.
Which brings me to New Year's Resolutions. For me, it's to soak in geothermal springs more often (we're going again next month!). Apart from that, I've never engaged in the craft of New Year Resolutionmaking. Largely because I do it round the clock, not just January. No matter how polished your plan to achieve your goals is, life has a way of happening, and plans go off track. So you need to revisit, refine, redirect, on a consistent basis. And love it. I heard an interview with a Native American elder on public radio recently, where the elder affirmed that that is, in fact, the way ancient cultures and indigenous people approach life. Not in a linear, goal-oriented manner (you know that annoying phrase we have: "been there, done that") but in a non-linear, up-cycling approach. The ancient mindset is, we are all constantly learning, discovering, adapting. We all need to revisit things we thought we knew, because they might have changed.
Funny, that. It applies not just to careers and skills, but relationships, dreams, goals. For me, it's important to have a strong sense of the overarching path, that 36,000-foot view of what I'm doing on a daily basis and how it fits into the larger scheme of life. So the cyclical, adaptive, flexible approach suits me just fine.
And we might be onto something. A
recent article in
The New York Times agrees. One of the sources cited, Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist and author, recommends having a "theme" for the year, rather than trying to break specific bad habits. "That way," she says, "even if a particular habit doesn’t stick, your overarching intention will."
Another word I like to use for the concept of a "theme" is "focus." I have circles of focus. My overall life focus, others for my work and passion, more foci for my family, and so on. You can also categorize your various themes or focal points by season, month, or week. Just make sure the smaller foci fit into the larger ones. Then they'll all sync up and turn like clockwork.
Here's to a year of good health, good themes, and focus.
~ Birgitte
