Here we are. It’s 2014. AND WE’RE STILL ALIVE!
Another year has passed and yes, we’re still here on planet earth. Lucky us. Some time has passed since the world was suppose to end according to the Mayans. You don’t have to be all caught up in this apocalyptic belief that we were lucky to have escaped the claws of death by the sliver of an almond to feel like you have a new lease on life. I for one stand by the belief that those Mayans just didn’t know how to count. But just imagine for a moment that you did just escape death? Morbid thought, I know. But ask yourself this – would that experience change your perspective on life? What would it take to give you that perspective? To see life in a different light? To truly think about why you are here and what you can do to make your time here more meaningful and purpose driven?
“The unexamined life is not worth living”
- Socrates
Sorry to get all Socrates on you. Actually, no I’m not. I’ll take that back. I’m not sorry for posting all these crazy questions to you. And do you know want to know why? Of course you do…
I fail to see how anyone on this planet can go through life not thinking these things? Can you be so self-involved you don’t see that outside, the world is beckoning you to discover it? It’s waiting for you to ask these questions so you begin searching for a greater understanding about why things are how they are and how things can be done differently. If you are a capable and functional human being, you should be thinking these things. Yes, it hurts. Asking questions is hard. Why? Because more often than not we don’t know the answers and a lot of people are uncomfortable with not knowing answers. Secondly, a lot of us are scared of what those answers might be. We might be wrong. What we’ve been taught might not be the right way. What we’ve learned may be incorrect. What we are being told by *insert some anonymous large scale private institution or governmental body or whacky, brainwashing cult* may be limiting our own capability to think for ourselves!
I challenge you to start challenging why you do things the way you do. For example:
Why do you buy your groceries from the supermarkets?
Sure, it’s convenient for one.
Does this help promote innovative and sustainable farming practices and feed back into the local economy?
Probably not.
Do you care?
Well, you should.
Why?
Because this limits the options that you will have tomorrow. This limits the potential for the world to thrive in the years to come. This condenses economic wealth amongst a small few.
Will you begin to explore what other options are out there?
I hope you will.
Will you start educating yourself about these things?
YES, because I am going to help you!
This is the year where I will do my best to make this information, just like this example, more accessible to you. It’s a complicated world with complicated problems. This does not mean we can’t have simple solutions. This does not mean that you can’t play a part.
The New Year is a chance for you to re-evaluate your life and get yourself set up for what will be the year for change. Sure, set yourself goals but don’t make vague and unattainable goals. You’ll just be setting yourself up for yet another failed New Year’s Resolution.
You can still shoot for the stars but help yourself for the sake of the milky way! Humans like simplistic and linear thinking. You’re human, right? Otherwise, you’re one smart dog if you can read. As humans, we like to see cause and effect. We like how A gets you to B which soon enough leads to C. So how the hell do you get from A to Z? You pass through BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY of course! So get an action plan in place. Set yourself steps. Find out what the BCDEF etc etc. parts are going to be.
Here’s an example we all hear from ourselves and those around us far too often - losing weight.
Need to lose weight? Great! Start with what you can do this week to help yourself. Don’t shoot for the whole freaking 20kgs. Start with eliminating the crap in your diet. Cut the sodas. Cut the refined sugars. There’s a plethora of free tools on the internet you can use to educate yourself on real nutrition. Save yourself the money and heartache. Skip the Jenny Craig’s and Weight Watchers. Get back to basics. Avoid ‘manufactured’ food. You’ll be doing a favour for more than yourself and setting yourself up for a New Year’s Resolution that may just be able to keep! This isn’t a weight loss blog though. I will talk about health later on as this is close to my heart and part of my own journey towards holistic living, but there are plenty of people out there who can help you now.
If you start this new year in the same fashion that you started and ended last year, how do you expect the change you want to see happen in your life to come about? Insanity is often referred to as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Lucky they don’t admit people to mental asylums based on this definition or we’d have an overcrowding situation on our hands.
Rather than make some lame new year’s resolutions that you suddenly forget about come February because, well, that’s life apparently and totally acceptable, right? No, it’s not. It doesn’t have to be. Get your priorities in line. If you really cared about your health, you would invest in your health now. If you really cared about what your life will be like in 20 years on this planet, you would start looking for things you could do now to make it what you want it to be.
What’s your number one priority for 2014?
Draw your attention to that priority and it will grow stronger in your life.
Just make sure it’s what you want the number one priority in your life to be though.
Ask yourself these things:
What do you want to achieve in 2014?
What do you want to get from 2014?
What can you do to make 2014 better than 2013?
(And yes, believe it or not, even if you had an awesome 2013… you can always top that!)
Now figure out the steps to get you there. Bit by bit. Whether you like to do your steps with the ABC or 123. It’s up to you. I personally prefer to list my steps using the old 123. If you need some enthusiastic inspiration and a refresh on how to do this, here’s something to help you get started.
I’m here to help! Sign up below to be added to my newsletter so you don’t miss out on all the awesome bits and pieces I’ll be sending your way in 2014!
Image Credit: inoue-hiro
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