| There are two kinds of New Year's Resolutions: | | | | - I will keep my heart open to learning about what is |
| | | | loving to me and to others rather than close my heart |
| 1. What you are going to do to accomplish your goals | | | | to protect against the pain of life. |
| 2. Who you want to be | | | | - I will be warm, kind and respectful toward everyone I |
| Many New Year's Resolutions are of the first kind: | | | | meet, even if I don't personally connect with them. |
| - I'm going to lose 25 pounds this year | | | | - I will take loving care of my body, the house of my |
| - I'm going to exercise every day | | | | soul. |
| - I'm going to learn self-discipline | | | | - I will allow my higher self to guide me in what is in my |
| - I'm going to double my income | | | | highest good and the highest good of others, rather |
| - I'm going to learn to fly | | | | than allow my ego wounded self to be in charge of |
| - I'm going to take piano lessons | | | | my thoughts and actions. |
| And so on.... | | | | - I will take the time to be with those I love and |
| I'm not at all diminishing these kinds of resolutions. It is | | | | express my love for them. |
| often very helpful to set these kinds of goals for | | | | - I will remember to stay connected with my inner |
| ourselves. But perhaps this year, you can add another | | | | guidance, my feelings, so that I can take full |
| kind of New Year's Resolution - the | | | | responsibility for them. |
| who-you-want-to-be kind. | | | | - I will choose to love, even when I am afraid. I make |
| Who You Want To Be Resolutions | | | | love more important than control, than being right, than |
| What if your primary resolutions had to do with your | | | | winning. |
| thoughts and actions toward yourself and others? | | | | - I will attend to what brings my joy. |
| What if these resolutions centered around being loving | | | | - I will be true to myself, neither giving myself up to |
| rather than achieving something? What might these | | | | others, nor expecting others to give themselves up to |
| resolutions be? | | | | me. |
| - I'm going to become aware of my judgments toward | | | | - I will support my own highest good and the highest |
| myself and others and how I feel inside when I'm | | | | good of others, never deliberately acting in ways that |
| judgmental. | | | | harm me or harm others. |
| - When I'm angry, I'm going to go off by myself and | | | | - I will be honest and trustworthy with myself and |
| take care of my own feelings rather than dump my | | | | others, never compromising my integrity as a soul. |
| anger on others. | | | | - I will constantly keep in mind what I want to contribute |
| - I'm going to stop taking others' behavior personally | | | | to others rather than what I want to get from others. |
| and instead embrace the loneliness and heartache I | | | | I'm sure you can think of many more |
| feel when others are uncaring. | | | | who-you-want-to-be resolutions. Why not take some |
| - I'm going to remember to be grateful for every small | | | | time right now to write them out? Imagine the world |
| blessing rather than complain about what I don't have. | | | | we would have if each of us made loving ourselves |
| - I will make being loving more important than avoiding | | | | and others our highest priority - higher than fame, |
| the pain of rejection. | | | | higher than fortune, higher than being the best, higher |
| - I will attend to the painful life feelings of loneliness, | | | | than winning or being right, higher than avoiding the |
| heartache, heartbreak, grief, sorrow, and helplessness | | | | painful feelings of life. Imagine the world we would |
| over others with deep compassion for my self rather | | | | have if we learned to love as God loves, to be the |
| than turning to addictions to numb them. | | | | unconditional love that is God. |