The idea of making a resolution for the New Year is a 4000-year-old practice believed to have begun with the ancient Babylonians. Yet, according to recent research, while as many as 45 percent of Americans say they usually make New Year’s resolutions, only 8 percent are successful in achieving their goals.1
Considering most resolutions are centered on self-improvement, maybe start with the self—you. This year, instead of taking stock of what you want to change in yourself, try committing to a few minutes of meditation each day. Not the busyness of chanting a mantra or guided imaging about ocean waves, but more specifically, Insight Meditation. Insight into you.
Mindful individuals don’t make New Year’s resolutions. They make regular adjustments to their lives and habits as the need arises, which can be daily or even hourly. When we operate “in the moment,” there is opportunity to fine tune our actions and efforts on the fly. Most of us don’t give ourselves permission to simply begin again, but there is opportunity to start over daily, as many times as you like. When you find yourself drifting to an old pattern or habit, it is precisely at that moment you are practicing mindfulness. Bringing yourself into the present moment is easier than you may think.
Try sitting still, quietly, with a one-pointed focus. The focus can be on your breath, watching the air flow in and out at the tip of the nose, or watching the chest expand and contract, or any other anatomically-concentrated focus, such as the abdomen expanding and contracting.
There are many self-help aids available, one of which is the popular, and extremely well done app, Headspace, which comes with a free trial. I have personally tried the trial and subscription. Headspace offers a great place to start and establish a regular daily practice beginning with 10 minutes a day.
Still not sure how to start? Send me an email and I will help. Let last year be the end to your New Year’s resolutions.
1http://www.history.com/news/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions
