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| The New Year- A Time for Resolutions |
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by Matthew Goodemote MPT, Dip MDT - December 27, 2010
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I would like to share with you my New Year's resolutions for this coming year. My main resolution is to stay true to my heart and when I drift off and resume some old habit that has lead me to dead end after dead end, I resolve to return to my heart and let it guide me.
Fortunately, I have spent some time over the last few months bringing to an end several areas that I have literally kept afloat for no particular reason other than they were familiar. As I write this, it dawns on me that the importance of the New Year is that it offers everyone that opportunity for "Newness."
I have had quite the year and reflecting over the past twelve months reminds me of how obvious it is that reacting to an event from fear or anger merely extends the process. Rather than fight against the circumstances, it makes far more sense to truly step back and find peace. Once peace is found, the decisions to do or not do something are far easier to find and typically more effective.
For a long time, I tried to avoid confrontation. Even though I knew I was really not telling myself the truth, I created elaborate baloney stories and told myself that they were believable to me. Over the last three months in particular, several of these attempts found their way to the surface and I discovered that pretending things are fine doesn't really make them fine. In fact, what happens when we stuff things down is that they tend to explode when they pop to the surface.
So for me, the New Year is representative of the opportunity we all have to leave the past in the past and truly move forward fresh and new. But the little caveat that needs to be pointed out is that in order to leave something in the past, it must finally be dealt with honestly and completely. If there is any remnant lingering on, it is like a stray seed that once buried in the ground will eventually put forth roots and grow, in some cases stronger than before.
The New Year is similar to the opportunities we face throughout the year, but the significance of starting the year on the right foot somehow carries more weight. Often we set aside times to make resolutions to make changes that are long overdue. But as most of us know, these resolutions typically fall off as the year progresses and no new changes are really made. We find ourselves in the same predicament we were in the previous year.
As I reflect on the past year, I can see that the best way to finally be done with old habits is to really be honest with myself and to stop making excuses for why I am doing things. I think that inside I have wanted this for a long time, but for whatever reason I continued to trick myself into believing that I was really walking the walk, that I was really living my life open and free.
This year has been a personal eye-opener for me, one that has helped me to clearly identify habits that have resurfaced year after year. As I trace these habits back to their source, I have come to a realization that they all started from the same mistaken understanding about myself and what my role on this planet is.
I have written a number of times about listening to the call from my heart and I have certainly trusted this call more and more, but if I am very honest with myself, I can find where I have convinced myself that my head was my heart speaking. I can see clearly how this mistake created the groundwork for excuses.
A common example that I hear from my patients and my staff is the belief that "doing" is proof of accomplishment. But in reality, the more we do does NOT equal more accomplishment. In fact, for me doing and doing has lead hitting to brick wall after brick wall...and I am really getting weary of these headaches. Therefore, over the last 3 months, I have intentionally done as little as I possibly can. I have refused to add more to my "to do list" and I have delegated more and more of my responsibilities to my staff. The results were disturbing in the beginning. My habit of finding something to do really surprised me a bit. This habit leads me to keep busy no matter what, from simple distractions like watching TV to destructive behaviors like eating when I am not hungry. But as the weeks have gone by, the opposite has started to happen, and rather than add another thing to do...like to stop watching TV or to eat better...I stopped adding things and really began to just simply work on what I felt was truly important and mattered to me.
Interestingly, the less I did early on, the more chances I had to find something to do. It was almost as though I was being challenged, like, "Are you sure you are really going to follow only your heart?" It was difficult in the beginning and the unsettledness inside me seemed to expand, but now after 3 months, it is shrinking. Interestingly, I have found several areas that I have unintentionally involved myself in that I don't really have my heart in. This created a sense of unease..."dis-ease"...inside me, and injury and illness followed. As I began to recognize what I had done, I could see that even though my life is far more peaceful than a few short years ago, I was still in the habit of “doing” that was at the very beginning of me losing my peace in the first place.
Habits are strong. I am not sure I have any advice per se about making New Year's resolutions or setting goals or overcoming these habits, because for me the act of "doing" something to "stop doing something" doesn't make a lot of sense.
For this New Year's I would like to recommend being honest and seeking the source of your own habits, and once it is found instead of "doing" something about it, maybe this year it is enough to "stop doing it...period." Recognize that the "New" part of "New Year" can be the opportunity to try something new...so let's put down the old habits and stop doing so much!
Matthew Goodemote is the founder and owner of Community Physical Therapy & Wellness in Gloversville, NY. He has degrees in Exercise Science, Health Science, Physical Therapy, and he is one of just over 250 in the world with a Diploma from the McKenzie International Spine Institute. Matthew is recognized as an expert in the fields of Physical Therapy, orthopedics, spinal disorders, sports medicine, and wellness. He is routinely called upon to offer tips and suggestions relating to health and wellness. His unique approach makes him a highly sought after expert at different ends of the media spectrum. He has received requests to participate in studies for scientific journals, and to write articles for trade magazines and popular press magazines such as Fitness to offer proven recommendations that stand the test of time. More of Matt’s blogs can be found at http://www.matthewgoodemote.com/blog/.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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