In my earlier post, "Have you considered not having any resolutions related to losing weight", I suggested that you give yourself a break and not have one resolution related to your body. In the comments, Ducky stated that she doesn't do resolutions per say but that she does a theme for the year. Her theme for 2007 is "Caring for the Temple". I thought that was a totally cool idea to skip specific resolutions all together and just have a theme for the year.
In fact, I only had one resolution for 2006 and that was "Be Authentic." In hindsight, that was actually more of a theme than a single resolve. Being authentic for me was about being real and myself, but it also translated to other things in my life like food, the environment, and exercise.
For example, in the area of food, I decided to eat mostly authentic food which were basically foods that had no artificial ingredients. When it came to exercise, I stopped going to the gym because when I got authentic about my feelings about the gym, I realized that I was exercising for an ideal image of beauty instead of for actual health or fitness reasons. I had to find another form of exercise that I actually have fun with and enjoy. In truth, I haven't found "it" yet.
A theme actually acts as an umbrella and can encompass ALL areas of your life. Whenever you have to make a decision about something, even something as small as what to eat for lunch, you can ask yourself, "Does this fall in line with my theme?" As an example, in Ducky's case, if she was deciding whether or not to eat a huge hunk of chocolate lava cake after a filling dinner she could ask herself, "Would eating this cake right now be caring for the temple?" If no, then there's no reason to eat the cake. If yes, then she could go right ahead and keep in line with her goals.
So, for 2007, I decided that my theme is going to be "Living vibrant." What this means for me is to do things, be around people, and focus on stuff that makes me feel vibrant, will make my world a more vibrant place, or will help other people feel more vibrant. So far, I have started out small by buying 3 pairs of brightly colored socks with patterns. This might not be a big deal to most people but for me it is. If you look in my sock drawer, everything is black or white, kind of blah but practical. I have never been adventurous in socks, and so far, the bright colored socks adds a nice flair.
Try a theme this year. It could be something new and fun!
