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| New Year's Drops to Add Vitality to Life |
Drop the Fear of Failure
Stepping out to do something new has its unexpected challenges and victories. Trying and failing often serves to make people more determined or to provide a new direction for the future. Many useful items commonly used today were failed attempts at creating something entirely different. Trying and succeeding also has its pitfalls if the success is too easy or compromises a person's character. Many of the strongest structures in the world only became recognized as such after being tested by the elements many times over. Who knows how many inventions were never created due to fear of failing...or how many life-changing designs are ready to be unveiled!
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| Celebrate a New You in the New Year – Photo by Steve Jurvetson on Wikimedia Commons |
Dr. Herbert Benson describes the nocebo effect quite well in his book entitled Timeless Healing. Although many people have heard of the placebo effect, the nocebo effect can have the opposite results that can be quite profound as negative thoughts can produce a multitude of negative physical and mental symptoms. Many people have negative thoughts that have chained them for years, and those thinking patterns may sour life around them. Learn new ways to look at life in a positive way. It doesn't have to be an unrealistic, head in the sand sort of view, but having hope can bring vitality back to one's life.
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| Drop Old Ways of Thinking for the New Year |
Bad habits seem to develop so easily, but they can be broken with commitment and a plan. Recognize the habit and look at triggers. Develop specific strategies for change with plans to re-evaluate at regular intervals. Decide what to do if or when a slip occurs. Find an accountability partner and/or a support group. Seek professional help if necessary. Find healthy substitutes so that one bad habit is not used to replace another. Find folks who are willing to celebrate small victories with you in a healthy way as you seek to reach new heights above the bad habits.
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How to Start the New Year – Photo by
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Although many would like to have more hours in a day, 24 hours is the maximum that a person is granted. Look at one's priorities in life. The real ones. The ones that would matter if all else is gone. Look at a typical week's schedule and decide whether it is time well spent, time well invested, or time well...wasted. Being too busy with trivial activities can affect one's health and strain relationships, often leaving the person wishing for more time to devote to more important areas of life. Give yourself permission to say no and to repeat that word as often as necessary to maintain a healthy harmony with a schedule that reaps great memories rather than great remorse.
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| New Year's Resolutions for Life – Photo by Lerdsuwa on Wikimedia Commons |
Perhaps many people are on the world stage, but being genuine can become a great gift to oneself and others. Those that are tempted constantly to please others usually discover the cost of that mentality has its toll. Nobody must be perfect. People who make goals simply in search of pleasing others are often missing a piece of themselves and may never fully experience their own full potential. Being human has a way of automatically humbling all of us at times. Humble pie is not very tasty, but it can be healthy if we don't order the exact same dish over and over. Folks who are genuine may make great discoveries of finding others who share their desire to ditch the prepared lines and speak and live from the heart.
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| Focus on Priorities for New Year – Photo by U.S. Army on Wikimedia Commons |
Some settle into a lifestyle that is often fraught with over-spending, although few people recognize it as such. As people purchase and collect more and more items, they often spend large amounts of money simply moving the items from one place to another or searching for ways to store the growing stockpile around them. They may spend large amounts of time trying to keep the items clean while attempting to protect them from weather conditions, theft, and more. Money cannot purchase contentment, and wasted money often leads to more and more extravagant spending and more misery. Consider what items can be sold, given away, or recycled in order to break free from the treasure trap.
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| Drop Old Lifestyle for New Year – Photo by Clare Cridland on Wikimedia Commons |
As we add a year to the calendar, we can also drop many things in our lives that are holding us back from enjoying life more fully. Whenever we drop what is unnecessary, we can then more fully enjoy what is most dear and lasting in life.
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