Sticking to it - attitude

This time of year, resolutions are popular. I prefer to call mine a resolve. As you may have noted, I resolve to offer my best to the situations I am in and the people I am with. The trick is sticking with this and remembering it day after day. And how on earth do you remember it when that s.o.b. just cut you off?

I touched on it in the last blog. You need a strategy. You have to plan the execution of the resolution into your day. Easy enough - set an alarm on a watch to go off periodically each day to remind you to do it right now - no excuses! Or wear a bracelet - every time you notice it, execute.

The main thing here is quality. I can 'offer my best' in a variety of ways, but if my heart isn't in it, it won't matter - it won't be my best. Exercise resolutions are only as effective as your attention to the activity. Your heart has to be in it - you have to carry the right attitude.

Attitude is choice. To create the right attitude, you have to think about all the pleasure this action, deed brings to you. When I was bouldering, there was one particularly challenging project I had. Within the first 3 moves, the granite crystals would cut deeply into the tips, and within three tries, my tips would be bleeding. Taping was not a solution because I couldn't feel the holds and accuracy was everything at this grade for me. It was painfully hard to be motivated to even try. Where I put my attention made all the difference. To cultivate the will to try, I would recall how painful childbirth was, well this was nothing relative to that experience. Then with the will to try in place, I would visualize my successful attempt. I would close my eyes and watch myself move over the rock, successfully getting the key hold to the finish. I would feel the muscles and joints in my body responding to the effort. This action of mindfullness changed my attitude from one of resistance to one of excitement and motivation.

The mind does not know the difference between imagined, visualized success and actual success. In a Yoga pose, rather than critically analyzing my limitations, or paying attention to the discomfort, I can visualize myself holding the pose in perfect alignment, feeling my grace, strength and flexibility. With these feelings, the process is beautiful, pleasurable, pure joy. When I see only my perfection and success, I feel successful and perfect. That is exactly as it should be, after all, we are all perfect just as we are.