2010

A new year. A great time to remember to live on purpose. We are responsible for what happens in our lives. Our experiences are the direct result of our intentions either conscious or unconscious. It is sometimes more comfortable to believe that our lives include a large number of random events that we have nothing to do with. This is the current dominant perspective. This thought process allows us to stay in situations that we have outgrown. Our life events become excuses for the reasons we aren't doing the things we love, the things we really want to do- or the reasons we have no idea what we love or what we want or how we would really like to compose our lives.

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Ritualizing the beginning of a new year with resolutions or intentions is appropriate. Giving ourselves a hard time about our habits, our bodies or our life choices is usually the result however... I resolve to- fill in the blank- because I feel bad about where I'm at in my life if I really look at it closely enough. This type of new year's resolution is more often than not- not empowering enough to generate the excitement necessary to really reconnect- and reconnection is what we are looking for in creating resolutions or identifying conscious intentions. Reconnecting with our values. What do I really want? Why? How will that impact the day I have every day? How I feel every day? The real quality of my life... My future? My personal story? My family, the earth or other things I care about, etc., etc.

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A year passes quickly. Making time to clarify our values and recognizing that making choices to live in alignment with them will have an outcome can be really empowering. If we actually know what we care about and take steps to live in alignment with what is important to us, we will have a different life. a different life. a different life. There is an initial commitment necessary to get to a platform where the choices we are making (on purpose) become reinforcing. When we reach that point, it's easy. We have changed our habits. We have changed our life events. We have reached a goal and can continue to reach new goals. We do this anyway- especially if we are generally happy with our lives- but to really do it intentionally is immensely powerful.

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We can expect results from making strong decisions to live with purpose, with a mission, with a clear objective- even if that objective is to slow down and take a step back from what can feel like an insanely driven culture. Driven towards what? First checking in- what do I care about? Then going for it. Then expecting things to really change- because they really will. It is inevitable. We are masters or our own lives and the sooner and more fully we realize this, the sooner and more fully we will begin to really live.