AND SO BEGINS THE NEW YEAR...

The 'hoopla' (if you partied at all...I did not), is over. The Saturday New Year's Day which felt like Sunday all day, has gone, and thus we have begun 2011. Is everyone full of energy to 'get up n' go? If not you may be in the majority. If you live where the snow storm has just passed through and turned from beautiful to pure slush, you most likely experienced a drab beginning to the new year. This does not usually equate to 'get up n' go!' If you are all energized to attack tomorow and a new beginning God bless you...if you are not, don't worry you are not alone. But let me try to help elevate your spirit.

I think a new year is perhaps the Lord's way of offering us yet another chance. A chance to leave the past in the past and to begin again anew. I'm sure there were many things you planned to do in 2010 that did not take place. Well now here's your chance to repeat the effort and to hopefully succeed. And if 2011 comes to an end and you have not yet carried out your plan, you can view it two ways. Next year is a new year, or maybe it was just not meant to be.
After all "God does work in strange ways".

If you have already, less than 48 hours after the New Year was ushered in, broken your resolutions---do not punish yourself. Things do not have to begin right away...give yourself some leeway. Sometimes proceeding with baby steps is better than thrusting yourself right into the arena immediately. The gyms are really crowded today---let's see if the same crowd is there two months from now. You've probably heard that if a goal is to run two miles a day, better to start with one block a week and to build up rather than to try the two miles right away, run out of steam, and feel completely defeated.

Goals are great, and I think we should rename resolutions 'goals'. And set goals that are realistic. Everyone wants to lose weight. Setting goals for this is wonderful, but make them realistic. One half a pound a week is really a good one. And leave a day to cheat. To stringently deny ourselves is to fail...to find some time to relax the rules no matter what the goal, is to achieve with ease.

So, if tomorrow you plan to cut out all carbs, maybe think about including one good one for the day instead of none. So if tomorrow is the day to reorganize the house, feel good if you get one room done. If tomorrow you return to school or work, have a good time deciding what ONE thing you are going to work on or change instead of the whole 'megilla'. I am reminded of Elliot Spitzer who started his governorship by wanting to change EVERYTHING TODAY!! Need I say more...we all know how quickly he was brought down. Hopefully Andrew will come on with more finesse.

Take some time to think about it, and choose very carefully one simple thing to work on changing...just one. Give yourself the pleasure of saying: "I am going to only rehearse one number today". Do so and it will be great...save the rest of the numbers in the show for another day. Same thing applies to household chores, reading assignments, work related assignments, etc. Get in there and do ONE SIMPLE THING! But do it well....HAPPY NEW YEAR! Have a great one.

Hope you enjoyed this session....PS: If you meant to contact this therapist or any other one this past year and didn't....one small call is all it takes. (I'll be waiting...)

Mimi Scott, Ph.D
212 721-2979
917 846-2449
mscott13@aol.com