Healthy Happy Loving Life: Maybe You CAN Do What You Can’t

Tags

beyond expectations, choices, Doing what you can't, energy, Fear, Feeling energized, fulfilled, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba Buckley Button, living beyond, unstuck

© 2020 Kebba Buckley Button.  World Rights Reserved.

Photo by Kebba Buckley Button

Today I share stories of encouragement, of people doing things they never dreamed they could.  In tough situations, maybe you too can do things you never thought you could do.  Are you in a tough situation now?  Maybe you will end up doing what you “know” you can’t, to work through it?

East of Tucson, where the Santa Catalina Mountains meet the Rincon Mountains, there is a beautiful area called Redington Pass.  In season, water rushes over the rocks at the Tanque Verde Falls there.  In dry times, the boulders at the Falls have a smooth, eery beauty, shaped by the erosive power of the seasonal flows.  Hiking in this area is very popular, but the trails are hazardous, due to a type of rock that crumbles easily underfoot.  A woman arrived at the top of the dry Falls with a new companion who insisted they climb down the dry rocks of the Falls.  She asked, “but won’t we have trouble getting back over these huge, smooth boulders?”  Her companion insisted it would be fine.  At dusk, they were trapped adjacent to a 300-foot chasm, unable to reverse their downslope climb.  The companion leaped across the chasm to catch a fire hose that was bolted to the opposite side.  The woman climbed out using ½-inch ledges that, the week before, she would not have believed could save her.  She had just that month taken a single rock-climbing class. The next week, she read that a hiker had died at Redington Pass, because the trail fell away from under his steps.  Someone had died where the woman did what she would have thought she could not.

On April 2, John and Helen Collins were flying back home to Wisconsin from Florida in their twin-engine Cessna.  John, 81, owned several planes and was the knowledgeable pilot.  Helen, 80, was an experienced passenger, having travelled with John for decades.  Helen was recovering from heart surgery and had very little stamina.  Six miles from their destination, John had a heart attack and passed out, over the controls.  Helen contacted the Sheriff’s Department for help.  A local pilot flew up to the Collins’s plane to give Helen radio instructions so she could land the Cessna.  With help, she did what she was unable to do the day before:  she landed the plane.  She sustained only bruises.

Recently, on an idyllic beach on the coast of Brazil, dozens of people were sunning, relaxing, and swimming.  The day was easygoing and calm.  Suddenly, lumps appeared in the inbound surf.  As they got closer, it became clear that there were about 30 of them.  People started walking to the water’s edge to stare in disbelief.  It was a group of creatures swimming vigorously toward the shore.  They were actually dolphins, headed the wrong way.  Beached, they would not survive.  The people watching quickly began to experiment with ways to help.  The first tried grasping a dolphin by its fins, pulling it back toward the surf.  Others saw it was difficult to grip the fins and pull the dolphin, so they tried grasping the tails of other dolphins.  Soon, a number of compassionate humans were grasping dolphins and turning them back into the surf.  The redirected dolphins then raced away in exactly the direction they had come from, toward deep waters.  The day before, would any of these people have thought they would know how to help save a group of dolphins?  They had no experience with redirecting confused dolphins.  Yet, out of concern for creatures in distress, this group of people promptly pitched in and experimented, successfully saving all of these dolphins. 

What these three stories have in common is that the people came up with solutions when urgent needs arose.  The day before each scene, they would not have said they had these skills.  They might have laughed if someone had said, “Do you think you would ever…?”  Yet they did what they could not.  So be encouraged.  Whether you believe this was entirely human creativity or whether you see the Divine in these stories, ask yourself:  in what areas of life have you been thinking you “can’t?”  Make some notes for yourself about areas of life you wish were different, but you believe you can’t change.  Then think of the people who “couldn’t” but did.  Pick something from your list and consider stepping up.  It’s your life.  You are the only one who can live it.

And now you’re in the realm of Healthy, Happy, and Loving Life^sm!

———————————————

Kebba Buckley Button is a stress solutions expert and award-winning author who celebrates life.  She also has a longtime natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. Among her books are: Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), Inspirations for Peace Within:  Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire, and Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine.  The books are available on Amazon and through Kebba’s office.   To email us, kebba@kebba.com .

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

UpBeat Living: Possibilities, Choices, Changes

Tags

at choice, change, choices, Effective living, fulfilled, goals, Visioning

Possibilities
Photo by Fotolia

© 2013 Kebba Buckley Button.  World Rights Reserved.

 

One of the most powerful things we can do for ourselves is to be open to positive possibilities in all aspects of life. Are you willing to allow yourself to get well? Are you willing to allow yourself to achieve a promotion? Are you willing to allow yourself a massive upswing in income? Are you willing to allow yourself a happy love relationship?

Have you ever noticed that there are some small or simple things you want to have in life but you don’t seem to go after them? Some of them are so easy to get, yet you don’t go get them. Why not? For example, many people complain about the chair they sit in the most. They say it just doesn’t fit them, it’s too high, it’s too deep, it’s too hard or unsupportive here or there. You have been in these conversations and heard the speeches. Some people can go on for years claiming they want a different desk chair, dining chair, or recliner. Do these folks act like they want to change the chair? Or do they act like people who want to talk about the chair and keep on talking about the chair? What is actually stopping the chair owner from changing the chair?

It is completely clear when we truly want something: we go after it. A morning coffee or mid-day lunch is an absolute goal, achieved daily and without fail, for many people. In larger decisions, we all know people who are sure of what they want. When their chair is not right, they try adjusting it and adding or subtracting pillows. If that doesn’t meet the requirement, then they go to stores that sell chairs in their price range and start auditioning chairs. Soon, they show you their wonderful new chair, beaming at how pleased they are with the both the comfort and the problem solution. These people are open to successful changes.

The classic formula for achieving something is:

1. Set the goal.
2. Set the approximate time frame and budget. List the steps needed.
3. Take action.
4. Stay focused until complete.
5. Enjoy your achievement.

So why do we so often fail to get to Step 3? I propose that there is a category of desire which is not a real desire. It’s the category of What We Want to Want (W4). If I only want-to-want my new chair, I will not take action. I am not willing to take action. Willingness is an element for success. Inaction is not just a matter of laziness, although it may appear so.   How many people do you know who want-to-want a new job or relationship?  What other examples of W4 can you think of?  You may want to journal about examples you have seen, or examples from your own life.

Do you really want it?  Or do you want-to-want it?  — Kebba Buckley Button

Here is a short method for you to try, in three steps.

1.  Write down your goal, such as: get comfortable chair, find someone new to date, get new job, increase income by $10K per year, get rid of scars, learn to program dreams, increase stamina 50%, lose fifteen pounds without their finding me again. Note how relatively willing you are to do anything about this. Do you want it? Or do you only wish you wanted it?

2.  Write down all your reasons for achieving this goal. What payoffs will you enjoy when the goal is achieved?  Again note your relative willingness to take action. It’s higher now, isn’t it? If not, figure out for whom this goal was really set. Was it for your parents, was it for appearances, or was it for someone else? Now, if this goal wasn’t really your desire, consider setting it aside! Otherwise, proceed.

3.  Vividly picture yourself having achieved this goal, and feel exactly how good it is to have this item, condition, or achievement in your life.

Plan to repeat Steps 2 and 3 daily. Vision it! Check your relative willingness again. Wow! Are you ready now? Then it’s time to stop wanting and go take action! Repeat as desired. Enjoy!

———————————————

● Kebba Buckley Button is a corporate stress management trainer and the author of the award-winning book, Discover The Secret Energized You, and the 2012 book, Peace Within:  Your Peaceful Inner Core.  She also has a natural healing practice and is an ordained minister.

● Your comments are welcome!

● Get these articles by email– just click the Subscribe Free option in the right column.

● Reach the writer at kebba@kebba.com .

UpBeat Living: What Mothers Your Invention?

Tags

Aron Ralston, at choice, choices, Clinton Kelly, fulfilled, happy, Kebba, living beyond, Necessity is the mother of invention, overcoming fear, Stacy London, unstuck, What Not To Wear

© 2012 Kebba Buckley Button.  World Rights Reserved.

Around 360 BC, Plato (in Greek), famously referred to “necessity, which is the mother of invention”.  Plato was writing, in Plato’s Republic, Book II, about creating a new state out of the needs of the people.  He and Adeimantus were discussing what that new state could and should be, based on the needs that were known.  They imagined.  They designed.  A number of authors and pundits since have used the phrase, “necessity is the mother of invention”.  This is generally understood to mean that if something is needed strongly enough, then a solution or an innovation will be found. This principle goes for the smallest levels of challenges and the greatest.

Consider this example.  A friend remembers repairing a grandfather clock, in which a tiny part had broken.  The part was no longer available, and the clock stood silent and useless.  My friend puzzled and tinkered. Today, decades later, the clock works well, and there is still a sewing needle, deep in the works of the clock.

In another example of solving small problems, a client tells of having an annoying drip from her kitchen exhaust system onto her glass-top stove.  The drip made a strange film on the stovetop, which adhered to any cooking tool passing by that spot.  In an otherwise attractive kitchen, until the cause and solution of the drip itself could be found, a small and lovely temporary solution was developed:  put a tiny terracotta baking dish on the stovetop, under the drip.  The tiny baking dish also serves as a spoon rest, so it remains.  How many tiny innovations have you made, that enhanced your daily life?

In the TLC television show, What Not to Wear (WNTW), over 200 episodes of makeovers have taken place.  But this is no shopping show, no find-the-right-pants show, no get-a-better-hairstyle show.  There is a much larger vision.  WNTW creates a unique opportunity for women—and an occasional man—to completely re-envision how they present themselves to the world.  Each participant, or “contributor”, is offered the chance to go to New York City with their entire wardrobe and have their collection reviewed by Stacy London and Clinton Kelly.  Stacy and Clinton literally take away any pieces that they believe do not work for the contributor’s lifestyle; this is often the entire wardrobe.  There is no going back.  The old clothes are gone.  The contributor is then given a $5000 card to use to shop for new pieces by WNTW rules.  In the studio, as the old clothes are disappearing before the contributor’s eyes, the opportunity opens questions such as:  what are the essentials of who I am?  What do I take with me into this new time of my life, and how?  How do I design my appearance,  to  represent who I really am?  By the time the wardrobe is replaced, the person’s hair restyled, and new makeup designed, observers can see the contributor’s attitude, stance, languaging, and self-esteem powerfully shifted.  Contributors have often reported great gains in their relationships and careers after their makeovers.  WNTW creates the necessity to re-invent, not only a person’s style, but a person’s self-concepts, by removing the contributor’s habitual lifestyle props: their wardrobe.  WNTW mothers (re)invention.

Occasionally, a serious situation may be the mother of our invention or innovation.  In 2003, 28-year-old outdoorsman Aron Ralston was mountain climbing in Utah, when his arm became wedged between boulders.  Ralston remained there for over 5 days, until he realized he could leverage enough force to break two of his arm bones and cut off his now-dead forearm with a dull multi-tool.  This graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University had majored in mechanical engineering and French, and had minored in piano.  He knew his piano days were over.  He knew that, to live, he would need to break and cut off the now-useless arm, rappel down a cliff one-armed, and hike 8 miles.  He did these things.  Today, he still climbs mountains, wearing a  prosthesis, and he has a wife, a son, and a speaking career.  When Ralston realized his arm was lifeless, he re-invented himself and his life.  Read more about Ralston in his book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

So in your life, right now, what necessity is calling you to invent something?  Do you need a re-invent a relationship that isn’t working, innovate a change in your stale business life, or invent a new schedule with more family time?  Is the ugly doorway of your home in need of a change of direction and redesign of the porch?  Is your health calling you to re-invent your wellness, with a fresh exercise/diet/supplements regime?  What necessity will be the mother of your next invention?  Enjoy your inventing!

___________________________________________________________

● Your comments are welcome!

● Get these articles by email– just click the Subscribe Free option in the right column!

● Reach the writer at kebba@kebba.com .

 

UpBeat Living: Doing What You Can’t

Tags

beyond expectations, choices, energy, Fear, Feeling energized, fulfilled, Inner Mentor, living beyond, unstuck

© 2012 Kebba Buckley Button.  World Rights Reserved.

Photo by Kebba Buckley Button

East of Tucson, where the Santa Catalina Mountains meet the Rincon Mountains, there is a beautiful area called Redington Pass.  In season, water rushes over the rocks at the Tanque Verde Falls there.  In dry times, the boulders at the Falls have a smooth, eery beauty, shaped by the erosive power of the seasonal flows.  Hiking in this area is very popular, but the trails are hazardous, due to a type of rock that crumbles easily underfoot.  A woman arrived at the top of the dry Falls with a new companion who insisted they climb down the dry rocks of the Falls.  She asked, “but won’t we have trouble getting back over these huge, smooth boulders?”  Her companion insisted it would be fine.  At dusk, they were trapped adjacent to a 300-foot chasm, unable to reverse their downslope climb.  The companion leaped across the chasm to catch a fire hose that was bolted to the opposite side.  The woman climbed out using ½-inch ledges that, the week before, she would not have believed could save her.  The next week, she read that a hiker had died at Redington Pass, because the trail fell away from under his steps.  Someone had died where the woman did what she would have thought she could not.

On April 2, John and Helen Collins were flying back home to Wisconsin from Florida in their twin-engine Cessna.  John, 81, owned several planes and was the knowledgeable pilot.  Helen, 80, was an experienced passenger, having travelled with John for decades.  Helen was recovering from heart surgery and had very little stamina.  Six miles from their destination, John had a heart attack and passed out, over the controls.  Helen contacted the Sheriff’s Department for help.  A local pilot flew up to the Collins’s plane to give Helen radio instructions so she could land the Cessna.  With help, she did what she was unable to do the day before:  she landed the plane.  She sustained only bruises.  See the nearly intact plane in the MSNBC report:  http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/03/11001564-80-year-old-woman-lands-plane-after-husband-passes-out .

Recently, on an idyllic beach on the coast of Brazil, dozens of people were sunning, relaxing, and swimming.  The day was easygoing and calm.  Suddenly, lumps appeared in the inbound surf.  As they got closer, it became clear that there were about 30 of them.  People started walking to the water’s edge to stare in disbelief.  It was a group of creatures swimming vigorously toward the shore.  They were actually dolphins, headed the wrong way.  Beached, they would not survive.  The people watching quickly began to experiment with ways to help.  The first tried grasping a dolphin by its fins, pulling it back toward the surf.  Others saw it was difficult to grip the fins and pull the dolphin, so they tried grasping the tails of other dolphins.  Soon, a number of compassionate humans were grasping dolphins and turning them back into the surf.  The redirected dolphins then raced away in exactly the direction they had come from, toward deep waters.  The day before, would any of these people have thought they would know how to help save a group of dolphins?  They had no experience with redirecting confused dolphins.  Yet, out of concern for creatures in distress, this group of people promptly pitched in and experimented, successfully saving all of these dolphins.  A video shows how quickly and completely this rescue took place:   http://elcomercio.pe/player/1384898.

What these three stories have in common is that the people came up with solutions when urgent needs arose.  The day before each scene, they would not have said they had these skills.  They might have laughed if someone had said, “Do you think you would ever…?”  Yet they did what they could not.  Whether you believe this was entirely human creativity or whether you see the Divine in these stories, ask yourself:  in what areas of life have you been thinking you “can’t?”  Make some notes for yourself about areas of life you wish were different, but you believe you can’t change.  Then think of the people who “couldn’t” but did.  Pick something from your list and consider stepping up.  It’s your life.  You are the only one who can live it.

__________________________________________________________________

— Your comments welcome! —

Reach the writer at kebba@kebba.com .

UpBeat Living: Your Mind’s Eye

Tags

choices, energy, Feeling energized, fulfilled, happy, Inner Mentor, Kebba, Mental equivalents, responsible, Stress Management, stuck, unstuck

© 2012, Kebba Buckley Button.  World Rights Reserved.

 

Whatever your belief system, it is crucial to hold the most positive thoughts and images in your mind.  Ernest Holmes (1887-1960), the founder of Science of Mind, described “The Law of Mental Equivalents”.  He said, basically, that what you hold in consciousness is what you will get in your reality.  This has been proven true in a number of fields, as your brain and body take instruction from your thoughts.

 

Do you ever wonder why some people always cheerfully achieve success, while others are down in mood and fail at many doorsteps of opportunity?  Success is very much in your mind.  Your mind takes instruction from your thoughts, and your nervous system acts them out.  Try this experiment.  If you have a friend who knows muscle testing, ask them to muscle-test you before and after you say the following phrases.  Otherwise, find a 10-pound object or a gallon bottle of liquid, and lift it before and after you say these phrases.  Ready?  Lift the object.  Notice how heavy or light it is for you at this moment.  Say 10 times, at any speed, “I am a weak and unworthy person”.  Your nervous system takes this literally.  Now pick up the object again.  Notice how much heavier it is?  Now reverse the effect.  Say 10 times, at any speed, “I am a vital, strong, valuable person.”  Pick up the object again.  Notice it has become lighter.  Now, always remember that your brain and nervous system are listening to everything you say.

 

Now consider the phenomenon that your brain and nervous system do not know the difference between a real situation of terrible conflict, like a nasty fight or an assault, and a portrayed situation, as in a TV show or movie.  In a good mood, go to a movie theater and see any of the currently popular end-of-the-human-race movies.  You know, machines are arising or attacking from space, and the situation is impossible.  Although not currently in theaters, Independence Day is a good example of this genre.  If you have a portable blood pressure monitor, by all means take your blood pressure before and after you see this movie.  At the end of this movie, you will feel very stressed, your adrenaline will be rushing, and your blood pressure will be up.  You may feel hyped up or exhausted, fearful or cranky, and easily startled.  Leaving the venue, you may be driving “with a heavy foot”.  Your brain and nervous system thought they were in a real war.  If you really want to take in movies like this, but you want less of a stressful effect on yourself, rent them, show them at home, and when you feel your stress building up, look at other objects in the room and think of puppies and babies.  Notice your whole bodymind system shifting when you shift your attention.  Truly, you choose what stress and negativity you feed your mind and body.

 

Now consider an apparently mundane example.  Today may be a really hot, humid summer day where you are.  It may be so hot that you would prefer not to be out in that weather, but to zip efficiently from your air-conditioned home to your air-conditioned car to your air-conditioned office.  That’s a healthy strategy.  However, we all know people who, on this kind of day, must chant out loud, “Boy is it hot!  It is so sticky!  It’s hard to do anything on such a hot day!  Aren’t you hot?  How can you wear that (bolero sweater/long pants/closed shoes)?  Aren’t you miserable?  It’s just miserable!”  What reaction do you think that person’s bodymind system is having to this chanting?  That’s right: the person feels hotter and hotter.  And if you listen and/or repeat their comments, silently or to others, you will feel hotter!  Do not dismiss this as “just psychological”.  The sensations are real, and you have a right to live the best and most comfortable life you can construct for yourself.  So have several cheerful rejoinders to the heat-chanters ready when they start in.  The one I use most is (delivered in a light and cheery voice), “Yes!  You know, it’s almost like Phoenix in the summertime!”  Then I quickly leave the area so the chanter can’t argue.  Do not get sucked into anyone’s negativity!  You will pay for the indulgence with fatigue and an unclear mind.  If you are a person of faith, remember God wants you to use your creativity to make the most of your life and your gifts.

 

Do you want to live your best life now?  Good!  Then notice negative programming, make notes, and work toward creating the best brain, body, and lifestyle you can.  It’s up to you.

 

________________________________________________________________

 –Your comments welcome!–

Reach the writer at kebba@kebba.com.

Stress & UpBeat Living: Hope and Vision Fight Stress

Tags

choices, energy, exhausted, fatigue, Feeling energized, fulfilled, happy, stress, Stress Management, Too much news, unstuck, vitality

(c) 2011 Kebba Buckley Button.  World Rights Reserved.

Some days, it’s easy to get too much news.  Local news tells us how many people had home invasions, drive-by shootings, violent attacks, house fires and financial violence by fraud.  National news tells us how bad the backgrounds of key candidates are, how many lost their homes in natural disasters, and how unbalanced the national budget is.  International news tells us countless stories of unrest, famine, oppression, and war in many countries.  How do you feel after taking in a half hour of such news?  Probably not joyful and energized.  Don’t you feel stressed, concerned, possibly discouraged?

According to A. C. Neilson Company, the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV per day.  The Pew Research Center says 40% of Americans regularly watch their local broadcast news.  Thirty-eight percent are regularly watching cable news and 34% regularly watch the news on the three major broadcast networks.

How much bad news are you taking in?  And how stressed is it making you feel?  Dr. Andrew Weil is a famed integrative medical doctor and author.  He recommends, for overall stress reduction, that we all take a “media break” or “news fast” as much as possible, for week.  Dr. Weil says research shows that emotional content of news can bring moods down and increase sadness and depression.  Why not try a news fast, and find out how you feel?

You can also use good news to lift your spirits and metabolism.  I recently got a personal example of this effect.  On August 11, 2011, the Arizona Republic ran a 3-sentence news item, enticingly entitled “Navy Destroyer is Now Serving as Artificial Reef”.  I got very excited about this.  I love good news, and here was a story of both repurposing a giant structure and helping the world’s degrading reefs and related biosystems.  My face broke into a huge smile, my head bent closer to the paper, and my heart was racing.  The article reported the 563-foot destroyer was now sunk “in a spot in the Del-Jersey-Land reef created by Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.”  (Hey, if you were the Navy, where would you store a huge ship that could no longer serve afloat?) Since I spent my public school years in Delaware, I was pleasantly jolted to hear there was now a tri-state effort to rebuild the reefs and protect the coasts.  I copied the whole 3-sentence article into email and sent it to my mother and my sister, who also spent a lot of time in Delaware.

There ensued a merry exchange.  My sister started searching “artificial reef photos” and came up with some extremely beautiful scenes.  One example collection is at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/02/artificial-reefs/doubilet-photography.  I kept thinking about the metal-eating bacteria that are breaking down the Titanic hull.  Experts have said we need to study the Titanic now, while it still exists.  Perhaps the coral and similar sea life could be enticed to build up new structures before the metal of the ship-cum-reef breaks down.  Following the search links, we discovered that a creature called a “soap fish” now makes its home in one reef, in what was once the barrel of a military tank’s gun.  We also discovered there are reef-loving fish called “tasselated blennies”.  Glad I’m only human.  Can you imagine that fish introducing itself at parties?

While you may not find this particular item fascinating, how did you feel while reading it?  Did you feel different than you felt when reading about the last airline disaster or the search for Muammar Gaddafi?  Were you aware of feeling pleased, or even less stressed?

Given that we often hear or see news of world wildlife populations being endangered, how would you feel if you read of a turnaround?  Would you feel encouraged?  Would you feel happy?  Listen to your system as you read about this item, also from August:  Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs have doubled in population in the last 2 years, since they were at a critical low population, and the government banned fishing them.  While they are still down 25% from the measured population a few years ago, they are on a definite upswing.  A further rise will permit a return to some level of crabbing again.

If too much news is stressing you out, why not try reducing the amount you take in?  If you love the morning newspaper, why not try reading the entertainment news and comics first, then only scanning the headlines?  Notice your stress level going down and your happiness level going up.   The news will wait.  Your life doesn’t have to.

Reach the writer at kebba@kebba.com .

UpBeat Living: New Year’s Resolutions That Work

Tags

energy, Feeling energized, fulfilled, goals, resolutions, vitality

© 2011 Kebba Buckley Button, M.S., O.M.  World Rights Reserved.

Happy New Year!  There are so many traditions around this time of year.  One of our greatest traditions is to make a list of New Year’s resolutions.  Some make the list prior to New Year’s Eve, then share their resolutions with friends at the party that night.  The popularity of making such a list suggests that people are not happy with the conditions or qualities or achievements of their life and lifestyle, as of the year that is closing.  Top resolutions Americans make are: to spend more time with loved ones, get fit, lose weight, quit smoking, enjoy life more, quit drinking, get out of debt, learn something new, help others, and get organized.

What happens to those resolutions?  Do yours last for at least 2 weeks?  Are they forgotten within a month?  What happened to your resolutions from a year ago?  Some people make commitments to complete their resolutions and some are more in wishcraft.  One study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, found that people who make explicit resolutions succeed at 10 times the rate of people who have an idea that they would like to make a change later.  People with explicit resolutions held onto their resolve with surprising success:   after 6 months, 46% were still on track.  Whereas, after 6 months, only 4% of those who did not make explicit resolutions were still on track.  Which group would you like to be in?

Experts say there are several components to achieving goals:  write them down, be specific, and track your progress in some measurable way.  Post reminders on your mirrors and refrigerator, even inside your wallet.  Some people succeed with an accountability partner, perhaps a friend who shares the goal and will be supportive over a multimonth period.  Some people succeed with a support group.

How long will it take to meet your goal?  Be sure your resolution includes completing the goal in a reasonable period of time.  What if your desire is, for example, to lose 20 pounds, and never have it find you again?   Write down what you will do to achieve this goal, in, for example, a three-month framework.  Will you switch what you swallow (“diet”)?  Will you start taking great multivitamin and mineral supplements?  Will you exercise?  Where will you exercise, and what times and days?  If you are an extrovert, plan on classes or fitness center programs.  If you are an introvert, perhaps workout videos are for you.  After the three months, what will your maintenance program include?  Write it out and post it.  Do you get the pattern here?  Yes, work out the details of your resolution, and recognize that this is your success plan for this resolution.

Your life is a creative process, your greatest experiment.  What tools will you choose, as you craft it into the most joyous, healthy, and fulfilling life you can possibly have?  It’s up to you.

_______________________________________________________________________

Reach the writer at Kebba@kebba.com

UpBeat Living: Sugarplum Visions

Tags

energy, Feeling energized, fulfilled, grateful, Stress Management, Visioning, vitality

©Kebba Buckley Button, 2010, World Rights Reserved.

Everyone has his or her own set of experiences and feelings, stories and images, around the idea of  “The Holidays”. Dedicated shopping enthusiasts have already purchased décor and gifts throughout the year.  Festive types are often wrapping boxes, making cookies, hanging lights, and playing holiday music, by November or earlier.

We have visions of what The Holidays mean and what they should be.  Some people see these holidays as times for gathering with family and friends.  Some see them as times for pulling communities together and remembering humankind’s noblest directions.  Some hold their breath and pray for the holidays to be over.  Some feel isolated from the apparent mainstream of joy and socializing. Some love the seasonal symbols and colors.  Some cringe at the commercial promotion of gifting.  In some homes, elaborate foods, heavy feasting, and expanding waistlines are traditional.  For some, it’s a time to go help serve at Shelter Services.

The earliest celebration in history to become one of our December holidays is what we now know as Chanukah, the Festival of Lights.  It commemorates a miracle regarding the Temple’s nehr tamid, eternal light.  Today, many Jews light a series of 8 candles plus shamos, the center helper candle, to celebrate over an 8-day period.    Chanukah falls in December, based on lunar calendar dates.

The second celebration to become one of our December traditions is what is now known as “Christmas”.  This is literally Christ Mass, a celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, December 25th.  Jesus is believed by many to be the Moshiach, the Messiah.  Prophesied by many about 2000 years ago, the Messiah was to change humankind by his appearance in human form.  The advent of Jesus, and his teachings, ushered in a new era of compassionate values and visioning for the planet.  This holy day, with up to a 12-day holy season, has been celebrated in many ways, throughout many cultures.  In addition to religious services, there are many festive traditions for Christmas: decorated fir trees, singers “caroling” from house to house, church groups re-enacting the Nativity scene, and a mythical Saint Nicholas who delivers gifts or coal in a flying sleigh.

The most recent of the religious traditions to become a December celebration in this country is Kwanzaa.  “Kwanzaa” is Swahili for “first fruits”.  Based on a traditional African harvest festival, Kwanzaa was developed in the United States, in the 20th century, as a celebration of African heritage and the importance of family.   It is always celebrated from December 26 to January 1.  Seven values are celebrated: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).   A red, black, or green candle is lit each day.

This column shares only a few hundred words on some of the most profound values humans hold dear.  As the micro-descriptions of the holy traditions flashed by your eyes, what images of your own past Holidays flew to mind?  In the Christmas story of The Nutcracker, little Clara dreams of sugarplums dancing: beauty, music, joy, plentitude, and times filled with love.

From before my marriage, my favorite Holiday memory is from Colorado in 1997.  We waded in steamy hot springs on Christmas Eve, in our swimsuits, with snow falling in our hair, and we laughed.  Later, I went  for a walk alone in the fresh, silent snow.   Never were the stars or my visions more clear.  Suddenly, I felt the connection of all humanity and the planetwide aching for pervasive peace.  My soul seemed to flash around the globe, “seeing” what everyone was thinking about and dreaming of.  I felt a kinship, a connection with all. I felt the Spirit of the Season across all time and space. I knew my sugarplum visions: Pax hominibus. Peace on Earth.

What are the “sugarplums” that dance in your head?  May all your sugarplum visions come true.

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A version of this article appeared in 2004.  Reach the writer at kebba@kebba.com