*this blogpost was for 2013, but still highly relevant!
Today we whispered wonderful blessings to our beloved ones and secretly we all thought of at least one thing we wish for ourselves in 2013. Reality is we don’t have a hell of an idea what is going to happen to us, which makes it both scary and exciting.
Maybe there are some big events written on our life map, some we might have planned, but many more will come as a surprise, while we expect something else. One thing we all know – there will be a little bit of everything. Happy days when you feel empowered to fight the big dragons, sad days when you are lost and have diffculties picking yourself up and some eventless days which we will not even remember. And sooner than expected we will be celebrating the 2013 end of year. Because life is that short.
It is the amazing things that might happen to us that make the New Year celebrations so special – this might be the year of your long awaited success, of getting married, of becoming a parent, of being promoted or finally quiting the job you don’t like. The uncertainty of what will happen in 2013 makes us also humble – the year most probably will bring also emotional challenges to overcome and difficult people and situations to deal with. I don’t want to even mention how many scenarios might be there, if the year is deemed to be life changing. The question is are you ready to face whatever is written for you?
Leave aside the New Years resolutions list, if once again you have included these items: lose weight, exercise more, eat healty food, go to the gym, sleep more, work less. The sad truth is by March we would give up on most, if not all of them. I remember these are the ones I wrote last year and the harsh reality is – higher weight in 2012, not entering the gym once, eating crappy food after sleeping less than 6 hours regularly and working till 10 pm often. Now that’s what I call plans went wrong:). We say that if we really want it, we will do it, but I think it is more honest to admit that sometimes we are like the little mouse trapped in the wheel and as much as we run, we end up at the same place. As my favorite quote goes, “You can have it all. Just not all at once.” ( Oprah Winfrey). So once you decide on your priorities and start following them, don’t beat yourself up for not being successful on all fronts.
Okay, but why don’t we try a different perspective? Instead of resolutions (intentions), solutions. I suggest we start the new year with the grandeur it deserves. Give an overarching theme to 2013 and decide on several principles to keep you going even when the shit hits the fan. Here are mine.
Overarching theme of 2013: Bela’s unforgettable year of family enjoyment and a healthy dose of selfishness.
Tagline: Cut the crap, life is short. There is a 100 percent probability we are going to die, so why not keep things in the right perspective of important things first.
Director of the year: Bela Stankova. I might not be the writer of the script, but this does not mean I cannot direct the year.
Top stars: my husband and my dog
Principles:
- Stay true to yourself.
- Learn to let go.
- Truth is more important than the consequences.
- “Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.” (Robert Heinlein) and when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount (tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians).
- There is a time in life to let things happen, and a time to make things happen. (Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries)
It is the first day of an awesome year ahead. Make sure you stay true to yourself.