New Years Resolutions?
Amongst all the holiday cheer and celebrations, comes the dreaded New Years Resolutions. The focus of these are often varied but one of the most common resolutions is that of health and body image. For many, these resolutions do not work and bring about shame, self blame and feelings of failure.
So, what if we change our focus from a resolution to something different?
When thinking about resolutions, I thought of the wonderful book, The Four Agreements. For those who haven’t read it, I would recommend it. Don Miguel Ruiz speaks of four things/agreements we can do to decrease the stress/strain in our lives. When thinking about the notorious New Years Resolutions, I thought of the 4th agreement.
1st Agreement: Be Impeccable with Your Word
2nd Agreement: Don’t Take Anything Personally
3rd Agreement: Don’t Make Assumptions
4th Agreement: Always Do Your Best
The 4th Agreement sounds easy, but is not. Don Miguel Ruiz’ explanation helps put it into context.
“Under any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next. Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be high quality, and other times it will not be as good.”
I love this explanation. New Years Resolutions are a great idea and promote a better sense of wellness, which I support, but if they bring about too much rigidity, the benefits can be outweighed by negative thoughts/feelings toward self and ultimately, the abandonment of the original resolution. By reminding ourselves, that our best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next, we give ourselves permission to make mistakes and then begin again, easily and readily, knowing a resolution is not about perfection, but about diligence and perseverance.
So, if you have made a New Years Resolution or plan on it, I wish you the best and hope you remember Ruiz’ words, in support of doing your best but knowing your best is never going to be the same from each moment to the next.
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