I've been feeling out of sorts for the past week or so. I came back from a fabulous vacation, full of insights on the changes i need to make and when to make them, only to go back to the grind immediately the next day. Over the past week, though, i've realized the way i've been feeling is a result of only one thing: fear.
A couple of years ago a friend spelled out fear in this way:
False
Expectations
Appearing
Real
Wow! That really hit home with me. I've learned that living in the present moment relinquishes most of that fear. Fear of what is to come (the unexpected), as well as what has already happened. Neither of these are the present moment. I find myself coming to a stalling point every now and then, and it's apparent now that i'm doing this purely out of fear. There IS enough time in the day/week/month to juggle everything i'm doing as long as i'm in the present moment. Worrying about how much I have to do next week/next month will not do me one ounce of good NOW. But yet it's so easy to get distracted, especially at the beginning of a new year. A clean slate. A year of momentum and change. But how in the world can one be stalled at the beginning? Expectations. The only way I know to remedy this is through living in the present moment.
How do we get there? This is where my word for 2010 and my February challenge come into play! Kaizen is my word for 2010. Kaizen means "small steps". It took me a couple of weeks to actually understand what that means. I'm always striving for the "end goal" and one is surely to be disappointed many times while making the journey on that path. By using Kaizen, we are focusing on each step in the direction of that goal. The only way to accomplish that is to be in the present moment: mindfulness, awareness, compassion.
So the practice of mindfulness is different for every person. I find the best tools for me are meditation and yin yoga. Personally, I've always wanted to have a regular meditation practice. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make it a habit as of yet.
So here's my challenge for February: stillness practice every morning for at least 10 minutes. I will commit to at least 10 minutes every morning. The stillness practice for me will be either seated meditation or yin yoga. Yin yoga is to be practiced in stillness, so I've allowed that option for myself. Both practices are beneficial for me and on any given day, one will be more beneficial than the other.
Don't get me wrong: for me, committing to 10 minutes of stillness every morning will NOT be easy! But now i realize just how badly i need it, so i'm willing to commit to this challenge for the month of February.
Does anyone have any favorite or successful challenges? Has anyone found it hard to gain that momentum at the beginning of the year? I'd love to hear!
Be Well!
Hilary
A couple of years ago a friend spelled out fear in this way:
False
Expectations
Appearing
Real
Wow! That really hit home with me. I've learned that living in the present moment relinquishes most of that fear. Fear of what is to come (the unexpected), as well as what has already happened. Neither of these are the present moment. I find myself coming to a stalling point every now and then, and it's apparent now that i'm doing this purely out of fear. There IS enough time in the day/week/month to juggle everything i'm doing as long as i'm in the present moment. Worrying about how much I have to do next week/next month will not do me one ounce of good NOW. But yet it's so easy to get distracted, especially at the beginning of a new year. A clean slate. A year of momentum and change. But how in the world can one be stalled at the beginning? Expectations. The only way I know to remedy this is through living in the present moment.
How do we get there? This is where my word for 2010 and my February challenge come into play! Kaizen is my word for 2010. Kaizen means "small steps". It took me a couple of weeks to actually understand what that means. I'm always striving for the "end goal" and one is surely to be disappointed many times while making the journey on that path. By using Kaizen, we are focusing on each step in the direction of that goal. The only way to accomplish that is to be in the present moment: mindfulness, awareness, compassion.
So the practice of mindfulness is different for every person. I find the best tools for me are meditation and yin yoga. Personally, I've always wanted to have a regular meditation practice. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make it a habit as of yet.
So here's my challenge for February: stillness practice every morning for at least 10 minutes. I will commit to at least 10 minutes every morning. The stillness practice for me will be either seated meditation or yin yoga. Yin yoga is to be practiced in stillness, so I've allowed that option for myself. Both practices are beneficial for me and on any given day, one will be more beneficial than the other.
Don't get me wrong: for me, committing to 10 minutes of stillness every morning will NOT be easy! But now i realize just how badly i need it, so i'm willing to commit to this challenge for the month of February.
Does anyone have any favorite or successful challenges? Has anyone found it hard to gain that momentum at the beginning of the year? I'd love to hear!
Be Well!
Hilary
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