1. Connect with nature. Next to the grandeur of nature, your problems seem very small.
2. Inhabit your body. Breathe, move, dance, run — anything that helps you feel awake and alive.
3. Find a community. Seek out people who are honest and fun, who will listen and tell the truth.
4. Clean house. Literally and metaphorically, clear out the clutter that complicates your life.
5. Cherish beauty. Try to put beauty in your path each day and take the time to enjoy it.
6. Open Your Heart. Give of yourself. Generosity breeds abundance.
7. Create. Make something. Paint, sculpt, cook, plant a garden, keep a journal.
8. Celebrate life. Eat good food, have a party, travel, laugh a lot.
In 2010, I gained ____.
I lost ____.
I stopped ____.
I started ____.
I was hugely satisfied by ____.
And frustrated by ____.
I am so embarrassed that I ____.
Once again, I ____.
Once again, I did not _____
The biggest physical difference between me last December and this December is ____.
I loved spending time ____.
Why did I spend even two minutes ____?
I should have spent more time ____.
I regret buying ____.
I will never regret buying ____ even though with that money I could have bought ____.
I ____ way too much.
I didn’t ____ enough.
____ drove me crazy.
Was ____ crazier than ever last year? Or was it me?
The most relaxing place I went was ____.
I feel so ____ when I write that down.
Why did I go to ____?
The best thing I did for someone else was ____.
The best thing I did for myself was ____.
The best thing someone did for me was ____.
The one thing I’d like to do again, but do it better, is ____.
Many people will make resolutions this holiday season, hoping the new year will bring the power and leverage (or at least the willingness) to replace bad habits with positive behaviors.
Most New Year’s resolutions fail, of course, but not for the reasons you might think. According to Dr. Roy Sugarman, the Director of Applied Neuroscience at Athletes’ Performance, the key to keeping resolutions is a three-pronged approach of importance, confidence, and readiness.
Most resolution makers never take the time to ponder why their resolutions are important. Take a few quiet moments to write down reasons why you want to implement these new behaviors. All valid contracts are in writing, after all, and this exercise not only makes things official; it gives you the leverage to change.
Change is difficult for creatures of habit, which we all are after millions of years of programming that tells us that change is dangerous and we should resist it.
“By making resolutions, you’re alerting your instincts that say, ‘Don’t do it,’” Sugarman says. “You have to be able to override that and recognize that this is good and it’s going to have a good outcome down the road. A successful person can override that negativity bias consciously. They overcome the emotions that say, ‘You lost a million dollars last time’ and keep investing or starting businesses, for example.”
This comes not from cocksure swagger or positive thinking but from the momentum of small successes. While it’s good to sign up for a marathon four months out to set a goal in motion, the confidence comes from starting on a training program of short distances that builds gradually to the goal of finishing 26.2 miles.
That’s why it’s often easier to quit smoking by decreasing the number of cigarettes each day than by going cold turkey.
“If we’ve failed many times before, our brains get engaged and push back when we try again,” Sugarman says. “You’re setting yourself up for failure because emotions are so powerful. The idea is to reprogram your brain.”
Sugarman draws an analogy between smoking cigarettes and walking along a cliff. We don’t get too close to the edge of a cliff because we know it’s dangerous. A smoker’s brain, however, has been programmed to think of cigarettes in terms of pleasure and not health risk.
“The brain doesn’t distinguish between giving up smoking or walking along the cliff,” Sugarman says. “To stop smoking is risky because it has adapted to nicotine and it fears change. Now you’re telling it we’re going to withdraw the nicotine. But if we take just one cigarette a day away, it doesn’t notice. Baby steps build confidence.”
One of Mark Verstegen’s recurring messages in the Core Performance booksis that adapting a high-performance lifestyle is much easier when you recognize that you’re doing it for those most important to you. Only when you take care of yourself first will you create the energy and actions to raise the lives of others.
It’s easier to slack off on a goal when you think it’s just about you
“Readiness is when you look at that resolution and say, ‘I’m going to do this now because a year from now I want my spouse and kids to be happier as a result,” Sugarman says. “Not only that, I’ll be able to look back and feel that great sense of accomplishment.”
Basketball arc is now ‘complete’
Ephraim McDowell, a graduate of Beaver Country Day School in Newton, has become a “complete player’’ as a junior guard on the Hamilton College men’s basketball team, according to head coach Tobin Anderson.
“He will always be a tremendous shooter, but his relentless work ethic has made him very good at every facet of the game,’’ said Anderson, whose team was 5-2 overall at semester break. “He’s become a strong leader and he is a fun guy to coach.’’
The 5-foot-11 captain, whose teammates include sophomore forward Eric Benvenuti of Concord (Concord Academy), was selected to the Liberty League’s Team of the Week for the second straight week on Dec. 13 after averaging 18.5 points in a two-game span.
A resident of Boston, McDowell ranks second in the league in scoring at 17 points per game, second in free-throw percentage at 88.9 percent, fourth in 3-point field goal percentage at 47.2, and leads the league with 25 3-pointers.
At Beaver, McDowell was the school’s second all-time leading scorer with more than 1,700 points and was a two-time Eastern Independent League all-star. A two-year captain, he also set a school record for 3-point field goals and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee his senior year.
