How was YOUR Holiday?
     Sent 1/5/2003

Hello and welcome to the first edition of the 2003 Sharing Creative Energy Newsletter! I made so many new contacts and friends during 2002 and look forward to keeping in touch through this newsletter.

By the way, how was your Holiday? Sometimes the holidays are too intense and harried to do what we really want to do with our time, such as: slow down, be reflective, enjoy the process, and take care of ourselves. Instead our time is filled with shoulds, and aft-toos and social obligations. For the last two years I have looked forward to sitting by myself on my living room sofa with all the lights in the house off except the Christmas tree lights and just breathing and letting my thoughts wander. I remember doing this in years past and coming away with such a feeling of peace and spirituality. It didn’t happen this year, the tree is put away and I missed my chance.

Next we are rushed into the ‘New Years resolution/change your life’ time of year. Positive change is good, but it is still change. If you truly feel ready to tackle it, do so, but don’t feel obligated just because it is January! Assess your life and your personal situation to see if it’s the right time for you. With my husband recovering from his last shoulder surgery and recently returning from a week visiting relatives in Rhode Island I feel I need a little normal, even out time before I start instigating any major changes to my body, soul, or home.

If you are contemplating change or feel pressured into it this time of year, use the following guidelines to help find your own answers.

*Ease into it –we tend to expect too much too soon. That is not only hard on ourselves but can doom us to failure. All your goals do not have to be met in the first month or even year.

*Determine what you really want. Most people skip this process and hurry on to becoming what their neighbors, colleagues or latest commercial says they should be. You can’t cut corners on asking yourself the tough questions. If you feel you can’t do it alone enlist a trusted friend to help you discover what it is you really want to improve or change.

*Maybe you don’t need to make as many changes as you think. Sometimes a small adjustment of our schedule to include a morning workout, an hour for spiritual growth, or just quiet, alone time and letting ourselves BE can turn our life around.

*People that jump into change full force out of guilt from the holidays seldom stick with it. For several years I was an avid kick-boxer. I dreaded the 4 or 5 weeks after the holidays because our otherwise roomy class became very crowded with people wanting a quick fix, but by February most of them had given up or moved on. Quicker is not always better.

January Challenge
If you have an idea or suggestion that would help others deal with change or embarking on an improvement plan I’d love to hear it and share it with my readers.

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Darla Arni is a Professional Speaker, Consultant and Author of Sharing Creative Energy at Home, Life Compass for Women, and the Sharing Creative Energy Newsletter.

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