Celebrations and Resolutions

As we celebrate and embrace the opportunity to start another year off better than the previous one, we anticipate and await all that the New Year holds for us. What we don’t always realize is that what we bring into to the New Year will determine what we get from the New Year. We are all the authors of our own individual stories and have the required tools to write them and like anything we write, a well thought out outline or plan is required before we begin to truly write. Those of us that take the time to think and plan will always have a better chance of achieving their goals and dreams.

2011 looks to be a year of changes and we have all been down that resolution path (and who hasn’t?), you know the drill. You begin with a very earnest proclamation of your intent while standing by the appetizers at a New Year’s Eve party—“I’ll lose 20 pounds! I’ll run a marathon! I’ll never eat chocolate again!” But… you get back to your life’s usual routine and those pious proclamations start tofizzle like tomorrow’s day-old champagne. This comes as no great surprise: a study done by the University of Washington hasfound that almost 50% of us ditch those resolutions before March.

As suggested above that to keep a resolution from becoming more than a joke, you need to start with your plan of action—and what better personal plan of action than to plan a trip? When you make the step to take your resolution on a vacation, you can start to immerse yourself in your new mind-set, whether your goal is to overcome a fear, eat better, quit smoking, or be a better person, friend or spouse.

A suggested place to go…one that is peaceful and not party town! An optimal place to go would be a stated miracle-making spa, such as the amazing Miraval in Tucson, Arizona or giving back and being eco-conscious at the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve in the Tulum area of Mexico. While some travelers will go looking to lose weight, (which of course tops the resolution list), some perhaps also to deal with an emotional issue or just to slow down life’s pace. Finding the great reward in learning and applying meditation is one thing I know I have gained from utilizing such a trip. It could and can be the first step in creating an awareness of what you want to change – what starts the process of your stated resolution(s) and it’s giving yourself the chance to look at patterns of how you do things at home, work, with loved ones and then start to make the change to those patterns. That being said and if nothing else, the memories of a fantastically great and rewarding trip will periodically remind you that there’s more to life than the perverbial “box of chocolates”!

Let us all take this time to really start anew. By releasing the negative energy or ill feelings that we might be harboring towards others, and by letting go of any self doubt and fear, only then can we truly begin to progress ourselves and move forward positively and free in this New Year. Some may consider fear as inverted faith so let’s move forward with a new attitude. Remember that WE control our lives with the guidance of something greater than ourselves.

Write your plan for realistic resolutions and enjoy 2011!

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Author: Deborah Peniuk, Owner & Travel Writer of Aya Life

© Deborah Peniuk 2010

http://www.aya-life.com

Email: Deborah.peniuk@aya-life.com T. @TraveliciousDee