My favorite Christmas show is “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”,
based on the book written by Dr. Seuss, AKA Theodore Geisel – a
fellow Dartmouth grad, I might add. (See I’m trying to rhyme like
Dr. Seuss too!)
A close second – indeed, practically tied for first place in my
heart – is “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. I tell you, I feel
like Santa in the story, constantly checking the forecasts to see
what the weather will be on Christmas.
You see, we are flying out from warm, balmy Central Texas – where
I was walking around in flip flops yesterday – to the
Washington, D.C. area to spend Christmas with my parents and my
brother. We are flying in on Christmas Day – and they are
forecasting what could be a major winter storm starting on
Christmas Day.
So, we are virtually guaranteed a white Christmas, which has
my son all excited. But we hope to make it into Dulles International
Airport before the storm hits.
And, just like Santa in “Rudolph”, we are checking out the weather
forecast nightly, to see if there have been any updates.
It’s funny really. Because regardless of the weather forecast, we
still plan on flying Saturday. And our checking each night (and,
I have to admit, at various times during the day) won’t make
one iota of difference in what the weather actually does.
This reminds me of how impatient we can be when it comes to stuff
we care about. For example, if you are like most people, you will
start off the New Year with resolutions and/or goals for 2011.
You will get going on that vow to “finally” lose the weight, or
eat better, or take the course, or read the books, or clean out
the garage.
And, if you are like 80 percent (some estimates go as high as 95
percent) of people, by the middle of February, you will have
given up on your goal.
Why is that? Why do we give up?
Well, there are all sorts of reasons that contribute to our
failure to reach our goals, or to stick to our resolutions.
But I think one of the most important reasons is that we are too
impatient.
In our technologically-based modern society, we expect everything
to happen quickly. We want it now. No, we wanted it yesterday!
We push ourselves to immediately break old habits, engage in new
regimens, take massive action — then don’t give ourselves the
chance to actually begin to feel a difference, to see a difference.
And when we fall off our new regimen, instead of seeing ourselves
with kind eyes and understanding, we assume it’s an “all or none”
proposition. We fall off the program, we mess up for a day, a
week, or even a month….and we give up. Go back to our old ways,
our old habits. Promise we’ll do better next year.
Well, let me make one request of you this coming New Year. Go
ahead and set your goals and make your resolutions. Do so with
gusto. Heck, it’s a brand new year that God has given us! Let’s
approach it with optimism, because who knows what wonderful stuff
awaits us on the other side of 2011?
BUT – big but – have patience. See yourself, and your efforts,
with kind eyes. Know in advance that you won’t be perfect, and
that’s OK. Vow in advance that, even if you mess up, fall off,
let up, you will get back on it and persevere.
You Can Do It!
Karen Van Ness
www.BestBreathingExercises.com
P.S. IMPORTANT REMINDER: Don’t forget our “Holiday Special”.
You can acquire both volumes of the Secret Power of Dynamic Energy
Exercise program for one very special price. It’s my way of
saying “thank you” and wishing you the best this holiday season.
You can check it out for yourself by going to the Best Breathing
Exercises home page. Scroll
down a bit and you will see the link to the Holiday Special – right
under the “Happy Holidays” wreath. If you’ve been thinking about
trying one of my programs, now is the time to do it. Not only will
you benefit from the special price on the Dynamic Energy programs,
you will also hit the ground running in the New Year!
Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2010