A NEW “BEGENDING”

“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” —Oprah Winfrey

5 STEPS TO “GETTING IT RIGHT”

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!  May 2014  bring you the courage and wisdom to end those things that do not serve you well and to develop new opportunities that you can pursue and embrace !

Hence, the word “begending”.  Any changes that we make or want to make begin with an ending and end with a beginning.

And, so it goes, round and round.  But, let’s not go around exactly the same way and get dizzy in the process!  Let’s hold our gaze on that one dream, goal, objective, and explore the path to getting there…

Trying to get it “right”, as Oprah says above, involves that process of letting go of one approach, and trying another one,  being aware of what is going on, and adjusting the cycle.  Sometimes it works well, and sometimes it doesn’t.  And so what if it doesn’t work well?  It doesn’t mean that you have failed, or that you are wrong.  It simply means that there are other possibilities…

Here are some steps you can take to “get it right” this year:

1)  Be smart about being stubborn.  What does that mean? If you are hanging on to something because you have started doing it a certain way, be willing to give it up if it is not working well. Let it go, and start it over again, a different way.  This way, you are being smart about being stubborn.  You are not giving up entirely, just willing to try another way.  And guess what?  That’s not easy.  We humans tend to be determined, no matter what, but sometimes there are better ways of accomplishing our objectives than  the ones we are implementing.  Change is good.   So, be smart!

2) Look back before you look ahead.  There are lessons in that past.  Just don’t let it get you stuck!  If you were to look only in your rearview mirror, you would not be able to see where you were going next.  Instead, look around briefly, notice what was there, and use it to propel you forward.  If a tree is falling behind you, you’d better get out of the way!  What happened in 2013 that taught you about that?

3) Be patient.  I encourage you to embrace the 3 P’s: Practice, Patience & Persistence.  If you are trying something new, or with a different approach, it may not immediately fall together.  You may have to work at this new approach and then be patient with the results.  It may or may not produce the desired effect right away,  And, if it doesn’t in the long run, be patient with yourself!  This is where the persistence comes in;  “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”…You are not a failure if it doesn’t work well the way that you planned it; you are only a failure if you quit altogether!

4) Live in the present.  If you are always looking ahead (as with the start of a new year), or always looking back, you miss a lot of what is going on right in front of you.  And that often holds clues as to what you should be doing.  It also puts you in a powerful place of gratitude and appreciation for even the little things.

It is in those little things, that we notice the cycle of all living things, and how the ending of one thing is really the beginning of another. Deep breathing helps – try that, and be aware of where you are at that very moment.  Are you where you want to be?

5) Set your resolutions and then be flexible. It is good to be resolute, but statistics show that typically New Year’s resolutions last only a few weeks, if that.  Why is that?  Often those resolutions are quite rigid. unrealistic and unforgiving.  They don’t give you any breathing room or space for reframing.  There is a fine line between being  over-disciplined and being lazy.  Chances are, you don’t want to be either one of those.  So, set your sights on what is possible and then go for it!

Give yourself permission to BE.  You can go around and around the circle, but if it is a little different each time you go around, you are learning, growing and developing. IF you are willing to observe, adjust and make that cycle a bit bigger and more colorful , you will have much to offer the world and yourself!

GOOD LUCK with that journey to “get it right” this year!  I know you can do it…

Take care, Ingrid

Ingrid Sarrat
Life Transitions & Caregiver Coach
My Coaching Circle