(reprint) New Year’s Resolutions: Another New, New You? Five Simple ways to the Real you. from the Motivational press release

New Year’s Resolutions: Another New, New You?
Five Simple ways to the Real you.

If you are happy, If you are grateful and peaceful, If you are able to wake up every morning with a smile on your face , looking forward to the day; If you walk through your minuets knowing that what “is” is perfect and could not be any other way, then;
You can stop reading this chapter.
Do you on the other hand, harbor things you cannot reconcile in your life or mind? Are there are things your are at ill with? Are you are unhappy with your body, your relationships? Are you are unhappy with your financial situation, or anything else? Then read on!
This time of year brings out the both the best and the worst of people. We tend to shine the brightest light on others perceived faults and deficiencies and mead out the harshest judgment while holding up the mirror to our own lives.
Most of us don’t like self-examination; we often don’t like things we see. We don’t feel like happy, satisfied and content in our life as it is, we feel that we are overweight or under paid, we feel like we are invisible or underappreciated or lonely or hungry or too skinny or too poor or too this or too that.
Most of the year we lack the ambition or the courage to recognize these, let alone change anything.
It is at this time, the turn of the Year , that we are willing to make preparations and attempts to better ourselves (or others).
Ergo the New Year’s Resolution.
I am not an advocate of the New Year’s resolution. For years I have been telling people to resolve not to resolve this year. Why?
Most Resolutions are lofty and ambitious, overreaching. The execution poorly planned. This results in an 80% failure rate in the first two weeks!
Diets are made way too strict to manage, quitting this or that seems like a good idea, but it’s too hard, too much to take on…blah , blah ,blah, yada, yada , yada. In the end all of these fail. Because?
You do NOT really want to take on changing the most important thing… that’s right, the Y. O. U. !
The inner you, the way you think, the way you process, the way you believe, the WAY you choose to be happy.
We take on resolutions in order make “improvements” to our body, lifestyle or mind. We attempt to cut out bad from our lives or pile on “good”, hoping it will bring us Happiness.
The truth of the matter is that these things are just symptoms, manifestations of our (un) happiness, our imperfect thoughts and action.
The truth is everything in our life is perfect for us to be happy Right Here, right now, right where we are at!
“What do you mean?” “That’s ridiculous” ‘You have NO idea how hard MY life is” If only I lost twenty pounds then you’re right, then things would be perfect and I would be happy. If only Johnny or my boss, or my parents etc. didn’t lie to me all those years or months ago, then yes I would and could be happy now…but it’s not MY fault he/she lied and cheated and (insert here)! I’m just going to quit smoking this New Year’s”. “At least that’s something positive, I can never be HAPPY. Because “Johnny” was an A**, but at least I won’t smoke”.
Skip ahead two weeks:
Me: “I thought you quit (_______)?
You: “I tried! It’s just too hard, I’m just soo unhappy, and it’s not my fault! And quitting (_________) just makes it worse.”
Me: So, what is making it worse? Why can’t you be happy?
You: That Johnny! He made me do this! If it wasn’t for him…I would happy enough to quit (_________)!

How is that (Johnny’s) fault?
Hmmm, Why do we surrender our power of self over to something or someone else?
What leads us to believe that it’s ok to abdicate responsibility for the way we feel?
The harsh reality is that it’s not the external actions and conditions that put us in a state of un happiness; it is our reaction to the outside world. Our reaction is a chosen and very controllable condition. Our internal thought system is based on core beliefs based and learned thought processes. What we have constructed to be believe is good and bad, fair and unfair, possible and impossimple.
Are you A or B?
A: I am responsible for perceiving everything that happens to me, I am responsible for my feeling and actions. I am responsible for my happiness; NO one can provide me happiness or make me content or happy.
B: The external world, things that happen to me ,can make me un happy, sad. I can’t help or control the way I feel. My anger, self-pity, un happiness has been done to me, and its justified!
The correct answer is A.
We all have to look at the face in the mirror and accept the harsh reality that we are the only single entity responsible for our body and health (in general), the way we perceive the world, the way we react to things that are happening around us.
Taking on a New Year’s resolution, even a successful completion of one, still leaves us, essentially the same on the inside. We may have alleviated or removed a manifestation or symptom of our unhappiness.
If we really want change, real change.
Life altering change?
Lasting and real happiness?
There are a few simple things to do. The rest of this chapter will address two things. For those of you ready for real change, I will lay out Five simple things to do that will be life altering.
For those of you that are not quite ready for that, that may still need to work up to your real paradigm shift; That just want to work on a thing or two, then I will address the top ten broken New Year’s Resolutions, as published by TIME Magazine.
If you willing to consider the fact that your own health, happiness, wealth is completely up to you; If you are willing to consider that happiness is a choice, regardless of the situation you are in … then read below and start incorporating one or all of these five things! Don’t worry if it feels un comfortable or goofy or too simple or doesn’t make sense. The results can be beyond your comprehension. And as far as simple goes, I try to apply Occam's Razor ,which in essence states that “The simplest solution is usually the correct one”. Simple is best and most effective in this case.

1.) Be Grateful
2.) Eat healthfully and mindfully
3.) Exercise
4.) Sleep
5.) Breath and Meditate Daily

See how simple that is?
This is a simplified overview to help get you started.
Gratitude
There is a mechanism to the universe that many cultures throughout history have understood. It’s found in all the major religious writings and practices,( including Judaism, Christ based religions, Allah based religions). Each of these, as well as eastern philosophies are advocates of giving thanks.
Mastering yourself and being able to find feeling and emotions tied to thankfulness, even in the face of seeming poverty or ill health or dis- ease, or loneliness what have you, is the real first step to changing any situation.
My Mum used to say something to the effect “Be grateful for what you have, or you won’t get anymore”! There is a lot of truth to this. I believe we experience and produce what we think about. We are a product of our thoughts.
When we can find a way to be thankful and grateful and effuse and share that feeling, in a genuine and humble way, no matter how rotten we think our circumstances are; we can create a change, small shift. A little goodness comes back, God, the great organizing system of the universe (whatever you prefer) starts creating situations that improve our perception and give us more to be grateful for!
Wake up every morning and take a personal inventory of your attitude. If it’s hard for you to feel thankful in general, pick out three things, small things. the sunshine, the air you are breathing, a cup of coffee, a smile from a stranger. Write these down and repeat them to yourself. Repeat your thanks throughout the day. Do the same thing when you go to bed at night. Work up to doing this during the day. Hang a “post it” note on the mirror and write “I am grateful for you”
Say this to yourself every time you look in the mirror. Do this for 30 days, then another thirty days and see if you don’t start feeling a little bit lighter every day, a little happier.
If you really want to jump start a new way of life, do these two things to put you on the fast track to happiness. Express gratitude for the things in your life that cause you the most pain. It’s a lesson brought to us, which we must master. If you hate your clothes, be grateful for them anyway. If your neighbor causes you stress and unhappiness, look on them with love and gratitude and then …and this is mind blowing, release all anger and emotion tied to them. Like a freeing wave washing over you, forgive them. We must master these lessons, or they will repeat themselves this year and every year until we do.
Forgiveness releases emotions and road blocks to gratitude. It is very hard to feel thankful and grateful as one is harboring, blame and anger and resentment. If we are living in any of these states it causes stress and harm. They prevent us from moving forward. We must forgive and release ourselves from this negative bondage.
Forgiveness does not mean that what somebody has done was justified or not harmful or is un fair to you. That may have be. It means we see these things in a new, more evolved light. We see them, just as things. We choose to assign these things, good, bad, indifferent. Our perception drives the reality and we choose out perception.
Forgiveness of an individual also does not mean we have to continue a bad or toxic relationship. We should cut Toxicity in all forms from our experience. It only means we don’t carry the heavy burden anger and hatred and blame.

Garbage in, Garbage out
The human body is a machine, a miraculously intuitive machine, far more complex than any computer or engine. But it still behaves like a machine, a computer What happens if I were to take a Testarosa, or Porsche or any finely tuned performance automobile and put in low grade fuel, maybe that was dirty, maybe that had water in it? How would it perform? What happens if I were to put sugar in the gas tank?
Hypocrites said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”
We are what we eat (and see and think), period.
If you want to get off of prescription drugs, if you want to lose weight, if you want to sleep better, if you want the physical ability to feel joy, then you must do an over haul on the machine from the inside out. You must remove the rust and the sludge from the system, the inflammation, the toxic waste that is built up in fat stores etc.
There several effective ways to do this. The fastest, most complete, most effective way to turn your body and your health around is this:
Green Juice fast for 30 to 60 days. Raw, highly alkalized green veggies, carrots, beets with fruit juices such as grapefruit, watermelon green apple. Lemon ginger etc. Drink juice though out the day, at least two liters a day with plenty of water and your body will take the much needed nutrients and start to heal itself.

Exercise:

One of the best things exercise does is oxygenate your body. All great exercise starts with efficient breathing. If we are someone who wants to lose weight for example we must shift our understanding of what exercise is meant to do.
Very rarely can you exercise your way around a bad diet. Weight loss comes from putting in the right food and eliminating the garbage and toxins in your system. Exercise can help facilitate the functions and proper hormone production in the body. A number of “feel” good hormones are released during physical activity. It also strengthens the immune system and often overlooked at moves the lymph system, which is equally as complicated as the circulatory system, but relies on kinetic activity to move the toxic waste material around your body.
We should strive to have some sort of physical activity every day. 45 minutes of brisk walking is excellent. Yoga, Pilates is fantastic for stretching muscles, eliminating toxins. If you are just recommitting to a program, start slow and be patient. You won’t have to wait long! Your body will catch up quick!

Sleep:
We don’t get enough sleep, period. The body performs many vital healing functions while we are sleeping. If you want to give your body and mind a fighting chance this next year; resolve to give yourself at least seven hours for sleep.
Eliminate caffeine, alcohol, substances, stimulation such as reading or movies just prior to bed. If you want to look younger, feely more vibrant, be healthier, be sexier, have better skin…then SLEEP for it!

Mediate:
If you do nothing else this year, if all the resolutions and promises fall by the wayside, do this one thing: Start a meditation practice. Daily meditation of some sort frees your mind, gives you perspective and peace. It can center and humble yourself and really put you in tune with and guide you to, the NEW, new you.
There are several forms of meditation, look into them and find out which one is best for you. I like the walking and working meditations as taught by Thich Nhat Haan.
Just try simply sitting as closing your eyes and breathing in and out for a few minutes every morning and every night.
You can get a lot of benefit by simply learning how to recognize your breath.
Sit still, close your eyes and simply repeat in your mind “When I breath in (breath in) I know that I am breathing in” “When I breath out (breath out) I know that I am breathing out”
Try this for five, ten, fifteen minutes work up to 20 or 40 minutes, something really spectacular happens, a shift somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes of meditation. Try for it!
As promised, here is a list from Time magazine of the ten most broken promises from a couple of years ago, with comments!

Top 10 Commonly Broken New Year's Resolutions – Time Magazine

Happy 2012! As we all vow to do a whole host of things most of us will not follow through on, TIME brings you the resolutions most often forgotten

Promises, Promises

Lose Weight and Get Fit see garbage in, garbage out
Quit Smoking see garbage in, garbage out
Learn Something New see garbage in, garbage out. Strive to expand the good input into your mind as well
Eat Healthier and Diet see garbage in garbage out
Get Out of Debt and Save Money Gratitude becoming grounded and thankful for what you have will help eliminate the drive to accumulate. You will find mor discipline and less need for un important things.
Spend More Time with Family, You can apply all of these things to accomplish list. Make these new habits a family affair
Travel to New Places Take the saving from resolution above and expand your experiences. Experience is why we are here. Give yourself an opportunity to rejuvenate you!
Be Less Stressed See all of the above, but especially MEDITATE
Volunteer : See Gratitude, giving of yourself is highly gratifying and returns so much to you personally, it draws good things into your life in all areas.
Drink Less: Garbage in, Garbage out!
2015 can be a year of profound changes if you approach it with the right, simple plan. A humble and grateful state of mind. You DON”T need to resolve to be a NEW new you. Think of it as stripping away the false you, the unhealthy you, the unhappy you, layer by layer until you let the REAL you emerge back to the surface!

Breath, smile, breath.
Happy New Years!
James J. Maioho