January 14, 2021
Hello, Readers!
Did you make some New Year’s resolutions for 2021? If yes, how are you and they progressing?
According to Victoria Price, daughter of the late actor Vincent Price and author of Living Love: Twelve Heart-Centered Practices to Transform Your Life, “studies have shown [she doesn’t cite which] that although sixty percent of us make resolutions every year, less than eight percent of us achieve them!” And we do so mostly out of fear, not love–even if our fear-based choices have the intent of making us do “better.”
For example, we might want to eat less, save more money, or reduce our time on social media. Why are these desires based in fear? Because, Price says, they reveal that something is missing from our lives (health, money, fitness, time, etc.), so they are generated from “a place of lack” or deprecation. This keeps us focused on our worries and needs, which produce anxieties. We beat ourselves up. Not good.
How do we solve this problem? Price says to start with a practice instead of a fear since practices are rooted in love, not fear.
To explain, instead of writing down everything you want to change about yourself, write down what is working and what you like about yourself. If you’re too modest, write down compliments others have given you, e.g, “I have long eyelashes,” or “My dog likes me.”
If negative thoughts come up, acknowledge them, then quickly put them aside. As often as possible, accentuate those positive practices and features, or as Price says, “the good stuff that comes from loving ourselves.” She suggests going to sleep each night focusing on all those things that have come into your life because of love.
So, get a clue, Readers. Perhaps it’s time to jettison fear-based New Year’s resolutions, especially after the horrific 2020, and replace them with positive practices, loving thoughts, and kind actions that shift us away from old negative habits of being. With that, I wish each of you a happy, love-filled, joyous 2021.
