My New Year's "Revelation"

Resolution. Resolve. White Knuckles. Jan 4th.

Revelation. Reveal. Expanded Thought. Dec 31st.

This year for New Years I decided to take a road trip. I didn't really care where I wound up, but for the record, I wound up at Red River Gorge, Kentucky. My goal was to have some time to reflect on what has been an incredibly challenging year, and on some personal and business goals for the year to come. Last year my theme seemed to revolve around balance....balancing my work and my relationship, about just being "enough" (and in one particular case, "not enough"). I kept myself open this weekend to see where the road and my thoughts would take me, so here it is...

I have been thinking about "success" and what it takes to be/feel successful. We've all seen people who appear successful but have trashed their lives through drugs and alcohol or who attain more riches than a person could ever spend, and yet they're still not happy. Success, to me i've decided, is the process of becoming the person that I want to be. I think that this life has a whole lot of "rules". But at the end of the day, the most brutal rules are the ones that we impose on ourselves. So, this year my New Year's "Revelation" is this.... We always pick something that we vow to do or to not do. What we really want is to just feel better. When we can't make ourselves do it, we feel like crap again. This year, I want to feel successful....*all year*. I think that if I feel successful, I will be. But if essentially the rules are mine for the making, i'd like to set them up so that I can win, so that even if I have a bad day, each brings me just a little bit closer. So, here they are:

I will feel successful if I can make even the smallest amount of progress in becoming the person I want to be. I will only feel unsuccessful if I give up on that. This is who I want to be:

I will be successful at life each time I find small ways to make a difference, even to just one stranger for one fleeting moment. I will be successful at life as I come to a better understanding each day of what I value, for that is what I will have. I will be successful at life when I find something good in a situation, because that is the first rung on the ladder to something better. I will be successful at life when I take time to have a laugh, to appreciate something previously taken for granted, to give a complement, or to do something outrageous!

I will be successful at love when I can love and accept myself, because that will allow me to be loving and accepting of others. I will surround myself and focus my energy on those who love me for who I am and I will love them for who they are. I will be successful at love by recognizing those who are deserving of the tender places and trust them completely, and also understanding that loving someone "unconditionally" sometimes needs to take place from a distance. I will be successful at friendship as I strive to *be* the friend that I would like to have.

I will be successful at work as I give each day my best, knowing that although no task is "impossible", not every task is worth sacrificing what I value more. I will be successful at work if I can focus on those things that are wildly important first, leave the rest, and go home!

I will be successful with my health when I do my best to eat and drink in order to nourish my body, and to splurge on occasion because I deserve it! I will be successful with my health if I at least got some exercise yesterday. If not yesterday, then definitely today!

I will be successful with my soul if I take even a few minutes to relax and clear my mind, go for a walk, read something inspirational, write a blog, turn off the TV. I will be successful with my soul as I come a little closer to understanding who I truly am, and my connection to the universe and all that is.

I will be successful with my emotions if I pay attention to how I feel and why, and know that no one can *rock my boat* unless I let them. I will be successful with my emotions if I can learn to ask myself the right questions, knowing that the answers lie within, and that they will come. "What is good about this?", or "What is funny about this?" will provide answers that make me feel just a little bit better. I will be successful with my emotions each time I move one step closer to joy.