Congratulations. The New Year has begun. The games have started. One need not look at their neighbor or their co-worker as an opponent. The true opponent, the only opponent, is within one’s self, is one’s self. Set goals but not too many. Be kind to ‘self’; any self-deprecation must be examined and placed to the side. It cannot be done away with because it is part of one’s self. To more fully accept one’s own person means that one must be more accepting of others. Let the New Year be a canvas for positivity.
As always, the New Year begins afresh, anew. Potential and positivity run hand in hand, beckoning one to follow. Good intentions light the fire. Consistent effort will sustain the fire. Excitement must be found in the tediousness as small steps add up to miles traversed; consistent effort brings one closer to the objective. One must keep the goal in sight and stay focused on the task at hand. It may seem insurmountable. Take a few steps, assess, take a few more steps, assess . . . .wash, rinse, repeat.
All the while there is a struggle. This struggle may be a holdover along from previous years. The struggle is with a person, the individual who competes with one ‘the most’. It, the struggle, is that of the ‘self with the self’. This is the biggest battle that one can (ever) face. Those issues with which one struggles are just aspects of the self that require examination, acknowledgement, and resolution. Resisting the situation can only create more struggle. Accept it as is and proceed while knowing full well that there is a part of self that will occasionally require ‘checking in with’.
Goal setting does not have to be contentious. Set goals and make resolutions such that they are reasonable. It is a tuning game. The easier goals, although more achievable, may not be enough to stretch some beyond their comfort zone. Goals that require more effort, more thought, should be undertaken with care. Awareness of what one is ‘capable of doing’ must be paramount in the choosing of this or that goal. Choosing a realistic set of goals and completing them, as one is best able to, can be edifying and empowering. Yet one must never feel so burdened that they begin to doubt self. Do what can be done, do what must be done.
People that one meets and interacts with are reflections of the one’s inner self. Becoming more in tune with the shortcomings of others provides insight into how we might be suppressing unfavorable aspects of self. When one looks at another as a person ‘within their own self’, not as someone different from self, that other person is on their own footing. They become a mirror through which one’s can become more accepting of what they dislike, wish to disown, want to erase. However, the reflection in a mirror cannot be erased. That reflection can be altered externally but can only be changed internally. (Thou shalt) Love thy neighbor as ‘THYSELF’ (Matt 22:39 – KJV)
Goal setting can be very contentious. Let the resolutions be reasonable and not burdensome. The only person that can love and accept someone, truly, is that person themselves. Do not shirk the duty of appreciating self. Neither should one nit pick the shortcomings of others, as that is just a reflection on the non-acceptance of self. This year can and will be a ‘Good One’. Let the actions follow the thoughts . . . ‘Believe and Do’!!!
Ab-Sutra Wellness and Fitness 