A New Kind of Resolution
I love cookies. If you open the refrigerator door in the yoga studio, you will find cookies. I reach for a cookie when I don't want to do the next thing on my to do list. Cookie is so nice then! I reach for a cookie when I am feeling tired and don't know what else I want to eat. I reach for a cookie, frankly, whenever a cookie becomes available to me. Which is often.
And then, I was in plough pose one day and as my belly and I came face to face (literally), I came face to face with my cookie habit or in other terms; my sugar habit. And it made me unhappy. The change in my body made me moody sometimes if my clothes didn't feel right. And while that cookie felt really nice in that moment – many other moments in my life told me I needed to look at what I was putting in my body.
So I thought to myself – I'm going to make a new years resolution to eradicate sugar from my diet! Yeah! There you go! Can't give up sugar in December – who does that? Yes, January 1st – here I am a no sugar yogi. Go 2015!!! I will change my cookie eating ways!
*****DISCLAIMER: On January 2, 2015 Alyssa Snow bought a box of cookies. Back to Nature 8.5oz of Pure Enjoyment.
*****DISCLAIMER: On January 2, 2015 Alyssa Snow bought a box of cookies. Back to Nature 8.5oz of Pure Enjoyment.
Sigh. I lasted a day.
How often does that happen to us? We make a “resolution” and it doesn't stick. I've spent the last few days eating cookies and thinking about this. Kidding (kind of). So many times, I've wanted to create a change in my life – which usually revolved around changing a habit that I wanted to let go of, and I would just not succeed. Over and over again, I would perpetuate the habit. Habits are hard wired and hard to change.
We can't just think them away. Positive thinking is sweet but it does not create change. Do you know what creates change? Having different experiences. This is how we change our habits – by being mindful of our choices in the moment and making different choices than we have made before. Ideally we make choices that lead us to how we want to feel (not what we want to avoid).
So now my focus is how I want to feel. How do I want to feel? I want to feel happy and healthy. I want to feel strong and lithe. Now that I know how I want to feel – when I make choices I will make choices that will lead me in that direction. I do this for my business and it has made running my business more fun and more satisfying (and WAY more effective). So now I am incorporating this into my life.
Does this mean I'm giving up cookies? HELL NO. But it does mean I'm choosing fruit more. It does mean I'm drinking more water. It does mean I'm being patient and loving with myself as I make choices all the time – because some will lead me to happiness and some will perpetuate old habits. Life is a process. I'm learning. And I am so grateful for that.
