As we welcome in a New Year, many of us are boldly and decidedly tossing the idea of New Year’s Resolutions right out the window.

I know…given our goal-oriented culture it’s kind of a badass thing to say, but there’s a way to approach the idea of causing change and making improvements that offers a much more user-friendly experience.

Instead of making vows at the beginning of the year to conquer big-hairy-audacious, pressure-inducing changes, more and more of us are choosing to use this fresh start / clean slate time of year to pause and reflect on the past twelve months in a kinder, gentler way.

This kind of reflection isn’t centred on all of our shortcomings that need ‘fixing’, the way New Year’s Resolutions tend to.  Instead, it begins with taking inventory of our blessings, and the things we’re grateful for – in other words, the things we’re happy with. It’s important for our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being to roll around in what’s good more often so it can have a chance to stick. Otherwise we’ll blow right past the good and centre our attention on all the things that need fixing, which would...well, suck. And I've had enough years of trying it this way to be an authority. (insert eye-roll)

If, however, there happens to be some stuff we’d like to tweak or even change in the coming year, we can do it in a way that allows us to continue to celebrate who and where we are in the process.

Not for a moment is this suggesting that we don’t have areas for improvement, that we ignore what’s not working in our lives, or the very real pain and suffering that exists on the planet. But by choosing to celebrate what’s right with our world, and making the practice of celebration a habit, we’re able to see those problems in a larger, more balanced context – a context that allows us to see that there’s far more right with the world – with our world - than there is wrong with it. When we can see our lives this way, it gives us energy, ideas, and opportunities.  Who couldn’t use a little more of that?

What I know for sure, is that developing a habit of celebration doesn’t require massive, big-hairy-audacious change, but rather a subtle shift in how we’re seeing our lives and the world around us. And when we change our perspective, making headway with the things we'd like to improve suddenly becomes so much easier. Real and lasting change starts on the inside of us, in the head and the heart, and then flows out into the 'stuff' of life - not the other way around.  

Wishing you a 2019 that’s FILLED with reasons for you to celebrate!

Cheers! 

Lauri

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If seeing things from a new perspective is something you’d like to do in 2019, we’ve developed 18 modules of stories, insights and daily practices to help you do just that! Follow this link to get started: The Habit of Celebration.