Dec 31 2007
Less is More
Idealism and resolution are the two ingredients included in making a New Year, new. We picture our perfect selves and resolve to do more to make that ideal a reality.
The year I resolved to work out more, I found myself at my first step class with a few friends. The teacher announced that it was time to “Mambo around the World”. As everyone made a 360 degree mambo turn around their step, they reached the point where they were facing the back of the room and there I stood, facing the front and all of their stares. I was laughing so hard that tears ran down my face. That was the last time I took that class and, by the middle of the year, I’d given up on the gym despite paying for a membership. Somehow I believed that by holding onto the membership I was holding tight to the possibility of my ideal physical self.
This year, I have decided to replace “idealism” with realism and “resolution” with suggestion so that I can do less in the name of acquiring more.
Here’s the idea:
-try to spend less time eating crap food and eat healthy food (I flat out refuse to give up French fries but I can adopt the principle of moderation)
-try to spend less time thinking about what I want to do and instead just do it! (I calculated the amount of time I spend thinking up reasons why I have not started or completed projects and if I put that time to better use I believe I’d be a millionaire.)
-try to spend less time critiquing my body and more time loving it (child-bearing hips and skin that sometimes looks olive in the winter – signaling I need some sun – I love it. I’m going to think of myself as a hot Yoda in 2008.)
-try to spend less time beating myself up for mistakes and forgive myself (forgiveness is hard because we are all programmed to be perfect but without mistakes we don’t grow and without forgiveness we become frozen and lonely people.)
It’s a start. These are mini-suggestions for a way to improve with age. We’ll see how it goes.
What will you give up this year?
Happy New Year to you all!
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Have a membership at a gym since I
moved to Las Vegas which we have done
religiously till the last few weeks. Oh Boy
Went to visit my kids and went to hell
with myself in eating and put on 4 lbs.
I tell myself maybe it is not so bad to have gained those 4. It could be worse.
Could have been more!!!!! Maybe gaining a few I will have a few less wrinkles. Um maybe not so bad after all.
Gee I am getting hungry. Think i will eat a few cookies and then look in mirror
to see if I have lost a wrinkle. Better a wrinkle in the stomach area which I can hide instead of in the face which I cant.
I love it!!!!! Happy munching everyone and Happy New Year to all.
As one of the friends who was with Tash during her first and last step class, and the person responsible for convincing her to go, let me say that it was one of the funniest sights I have ever seen. She started out with such conviction to master this class, but when it got away from her (because what I didn’t tell her was that it was an advanced class, oops!) she just took it in stride and realized how ridiculous it was to be in this room jumping around this block trying to follow the madman in the front of the room. In this, she sets an example that we can all follow. Try to do your best, but when the goal you set is unrealistic, well then you should laugh at yourself for being so silly in the first place and re-assess the situation. I am firmly against resolutions. I was just watching some stupid show on T.V. that announced that over 50% of people failed to achieve their resolutions last year (I am SURE the number is much higher than that) and over 75% were committed to making new ones this year. Why??? So you can fail again and get re-depressed next December 31st? My least favorite months at the gym are January and February. It is absolutely packed, all the machines are taken, there is no elbow room and it’s hot and sweaty. During those months, all I can think is, “I can’t wait until March”. That’s when all of the resolutioners come to their senses and realize that this working out thing is really not for them. This is not to say that I am against self improvement, but drastic unrealistic goals merely set us all up for failure. Instead, I choose to make every day New Year’s day and try to make simple small choices that are better for myself on a daily basis. I agree, Tash, I am not giving up french fries or egg rolls. However, if I want to eat them, well then, I can’t give up the gym either. Life is about balance and as you said moderation. I love your ideas and agree that in the end, less on a daily basis will lead to much more a year from now. Happy New Year!!!
I am going to quit drinking. I think it will be easy–I’ve done it thousands of times. Usually it was because the bottle was empty and the liquor store was closed, but still….
I’m going to try to be as regular about posting on my blog as you are. I will find some sort of mental equivalent of Metimucel and I hope it will just start flowing…but not in a crappy way, obviously.
I am going to recognize Girl Scout Cookies for the crack cocaine that they are and stop ordering Thin Mints by the case, saving friends and family from the need to hold the chocolate intervention I know they’ve been plotting.
I will try to get above a 41 on http://www.freerice.com and improve my vocabulary doing so.
I will kiss my children, hug my husband and pet the cat more.
Happy New Year!
XO
Lorrie
umm…
excellent question
I’m going to gripe less..no I’m not…it’s part of my twisted sense of humor. I’m going to worry less that people don’t get me and just be who I am.
I’m going to do less talking about working out and really seiously just do it (Nike style).
I’m going to give in less to crankiness at home and show the people I love the happiness that I have in loving them and not all the stuff that I’ve collected at work all day to unload on them instead.
I’m going to decorate a cake goddammit!
In fact, I’m going to take a class. Anyone want to join me?
oh wait…I’m going to do less talking about decorating a cake is where that came from …
I’m going to try to hold in less, let out more, and live a little stronger every day.
Perhaps I should drink less coffee, less RedBull, and less wine every day. I’ll give that a serious think through and get back to you though. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, ya know what I mean?
oh, and Claire…Step class…I freakin’ LOVE Step class!!
May I say that my favorite ever Step class was the one I went to with you when three of us just busted up laughing in the back because we couldn’t keep up, while you ‘grapevined around the world’ like a pro. That’s a memory to last a lifetime!