I was listening to the radio in my car, when I heard Lynne Rossetto Kasper say,
"This is the time of year we feel homesick, even when we're at home."
That's when I realized why I feel as though the New Year is a time of new beginnings.
I truly enjoy the holiday season, the hoopla, the festivities, the cookies, and the joy.
AND it leaves me exhausted.
Lynne's statement helped me understand how big a role nostalgia plays in creating a holiday season heavy with emotion.
We rely on childhood traditions and memories to keep the spirit of the holidays alive. This could be one reason it's said that the holidays are all about the children ... including the one we carry inside ourselves.
As the "old" year (filled with memories and traditions of years past) winds down and the "new" year dawns, we feel revived, excited, and energized. We throw off our nostalgia and look ahead once more.
In the spirit of moving forward, I present "Carrying the Torch",
my latest Oracle Painting.
Carrying a Torch Ginger, this Oracle reminds us to carry our love and beauty in front of us as we move forward into the new year with dignity and poise.
I am also ready to share my latest idea: the Ten Minute Revolution.
In 2012 I read two books on habits and purchased a habit App (for my smart phone) that have taken hold within me.
The first book I read was, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg.
A fascinating read, this book is filled with well-told stories, interesting case studies, and scientific research. It outlines the ways in which habits are formed.
Habits are associated with cues that lead to rewards. When we are rewarded each time we do something, we are more likely to do it again. This is true of both good habits and bad habits.
Reading The Power of Habit, helped me realize I needed help to create new and better habits in life. That's when I downloaded the Habit List app for my iPhone.
Habit List is easy to use and helps keep you focused on getting things done. First you create a list of things you want to do each week and decide how often you want to do them.
For instance, one of my new habits is to start one new painting each week. Once I start a painting, I click on the habit, then click on the date, and that habit is crossed off my list for that week.
If I start a second painting that same week, I can access the habit and click it again. This improves my success statistics and I feel doubly rewarded. Thus a new habit is created and rewarded.
I also want to walk everyday, but some days I don't have much time. So I created a habit to walk at least ten minutes each day (surely I can spare ten minutes, and walk longer if I have more time).
Now every time I take a walk, no matter how long, I cross it off my list. The rewards are both the walk and the satisfaction of crossing it off the list. Hopefully this will become a permanent habit.
So far the hardest habit for me to incorporate has been to do Ten Minutes of Organizing five days a week. This one is a struggle, but I am gaining momentum and feel confident that I will make this stick too.
There you have it, a Ten Minute Revolution: changing habits ten minutes at a time.
The other book I have been reading and recommending is Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza. It sounds a bit radical, but is a truly great read I think you will enjoy.
Patrice Federspiel