2012: Clean the Slate and Move Forward

By Jillian Maas Backman

As an intuitive writer I find it difficult to blog during this time of year and not succumb to the typical trap of penning about the New Year’s Resolution ritual. I too get quite bored with the scripted rhetoric on how to set goals and follow through. However, the forces within me cannot resist the urge to join the crowd and add my two cents to the pile. The truth of the matter is one can truly gain incredible transformations with a few minor adjustment to this yearly self-improvement project.

There is always exuberant energy surrounding the dawn of a crisp new year. We never know what surprises the universe has in store just around the corner. January 1, 2012 symbolically represents the kick-off day for starting anew. A proverbial clean slate, if you will. Giving us the ability to once again tap into an innate urge to explore unchartered territory for resolving past issues and finding new adventures. I often wonder to myself why does one person seize this formable opportunity with gusto and others knowingly decline?

Step One: Clean the Slate

I reported in my November blog post the energy of 2012 will support creative endeavors. Let your New Year’s Resolutions reflect this thrilling prospect by thinking outside your normal routine this year.

We all have re-occurring goals that seem to find themselves back on the list year after year. Goals that have not been met in the past and still haunt one’s future. Do not let yourself be trapped in a corner by this unfinished business. It is so easy to let one’s mind wander back to self-sabotaging thoughts that may have caused one to fail in the past. Do not begin this year with this same kind of hopeless internal talk.

Don’t allow your mind to peddle the bicycle backwards.

I know this analogy sounds ridiculous when talking about resolutions, but I cannot help myself. Human growth is about constant movement. Much like the act of riding a bicycle forward at all times. Every good ride starts with a definite beginning point to ride from and a pre-determined endpoint of destination. Without either, you may end up riding around in one big circle or simply give up and stop. Some can even end up peddling the bike backwards into a world filled with comfortable stagnation.

Stagnation can be an enemy.

For some odd reason some take great pride in their own stagnation. Find bragging rights to the fact they are doing and living the exact same way they did five years ago. The furniture in their homes has not moved from their position since they moved in. Having the same friends and doing the same weekend activities year after year without pause. This can be comforting to those who do not like change but it is counter-intuitive in regards to resolutions. Resolutions are about shaking things up in your world. They require a mind-shift of large proportions to affect permanent conclusions.

Moving from Stagnation to Interaction

The only way a bicycle can move forward is looking ahead and creating momentum. Do not let your past failures set you up for more stagnation in the future. Refuse to talk about that old back-drama anymore. The more one talks about it, the more the brain goes into psychobabble looping. Like an old cassette recorder. It keeps playing the messages laid down from the past like toxic underground lyrics to an out of tune off-pitch melody. You must apply new conditions to generational tradition with contemporary exercises to gain back the control of your thoughts and actions.

It is a waste of time and effort to list on a piece of paper your proposed resolution intentions without a roadmap to follow. Use resolution statements this year to construct a roadmap to fit your predetermined victory.

Take a candid look at the beginning point of your 2012 road trip.

On the left side of a piece of paper write down the issues you are starting with and want to transform such as weight issues, smoking habit, relationship or career issues. I personally prefer using an old paper foldout map from the glove compartment of my car and use that as my piece of paper. I love the literal view of the map. It is a constant reminder to understand there are thousands of ways to reach my final successful destination. Locating the left side of the map, I settle in with a fine-line sharpie and let my inhibitions go. Writing away until I am empty inside with truthful statements of items I am transforming this next year.

When finished with that part of the exercise, head towards the right side of that same piece of paper or map if daring. Write your resolutions with sincerity and inspiration. Be deliberate with the intentions this time. Feel the mind body and spirit connect with each letter transposed. Write one’s 2012 resolutions from the inside out and let your soul voice take the lead on this one.

The last task deserves constant attention throughout the year. Divide the remaining area between the two lists into ten small quadrants. Leave enough room for quick notes in each section. At the top of the page allocate a column for each month of the next year. The month of January goes directly above the list made on the left-hand side. The month of December goes directly above the list on the right- hand side, resolutions for this year. Label the remaining columns in the middle of the page or map with months February through November. Use the space in each monthly column to report and write notes of your accomplishment throughout the year. The self -awareness that will come with this quirky little exercise will strangely amaze you.

Hang it up somewhere significant where it can be readily available for quick memos. Mine always hangs in the feng shui career/wealth quadrant of my office for better results.

A Bicycle built for many

This resolution ritual is meant to be fun and enjoyable but we have a tendency to forget that during this time of year. We are so wrapped up in our personal self-improvement agendas we overlook the fact it is about the betterment of the world. There is no resolution on your list that does not have a lasting effect on others as well. Be proactive and use this fact to your advantage. If each person commits, strives and achieves at his or her resolutions, the world will receive a positive jolt with that development. My growth is your growth and your growth is my growth. Therefore, as corny as you think the act of writing and dedicating the next year to new and improved resolutions, remember this fact, your inaction or actions are indeed affecting us all.

In resolutionary grace,

Jillian Maas Backman

Jillian Maas Backman, Author, Beyond The Pews, Breaking With Traditions and Letting Go Religious Lockdown and host of the radio show, CHANGE ALREADY!  www.jillianmaasbackman.com