The Ease and Success of Maintaining a New Year’s Resolution

This time of year we are bombarded with videos, blogs, advice and helpful hints, to initiate and commit to New Year’s Resolutions. On one hand our resolutions are exciting, as we think about the changes in our life that we feel will make us happy, but on the other hand they can cause anxiety remembering all the previous years we failed to keep our resolutions.

When we are so excited and possess strong desire for our resolutions, why do we fail a month or two after committing to their resolutions? The Modern Zen Warrior point of view is our desires and goals are bigger than the degree in which we have prepared ourselves. The current condition is unable to sustain the resolved commitment.

Making daily resolutions are kinder to our psyche. As we develop our resolution capacity via daily accomplishments we feel encouraged, motivated and confident to build and broaden our resolutions capacity. If we have the desire in our heart for something, we have the ability to obtain that desire.  We just need to prepare ourselves day by day, step by step. Slow and steady.

To illustrate, let’s use the example of wanting to exercise as a New Year’s resolution; wanting to feel more fit, have more energy and possibly lose weight. Our passionate desire may excite us to resolve on New Year’s Day to go to the gym 3 to 5 times a week. However for the past 6 years there has been next to no exercise in our regimen. Unless we already embody the discipline of a Samurai, the resolution is greater than the mental, emotional & physical state of your current condition. In this case, overwhelm will engulf us, not from lack of wanting to be healthy but from being unprepared.

Referencing the above example, the Modern Zen Warrior method would suggest to resolve to do 5 sit-ups daily for one week. This will allow you to build your resolution muscle day by day in a gentle, manageable way.  The second week you may decide to add 5 more sit-ups or 5 push ups. The third week you can add 5 more sit-ups/push-ups or you may decide to add 3 minutes of stretching or deep breathing. By the 4th week you are motivated, you feel good about yourself, physically you feel stronger, your core is tighter and you’re experiencing more energy and vitality.  You now have confidence and fortitude to continue fulfilling your resolution to be and feel healthy. Before you know it, by the time Spring comes along you’ll feel brand new.

Let’s be kind, patient and loving with ourselves. You will start somewhere and you will begin to feel better everyday. We all inherently want to feel energetic, vibrant, and feel like we are living to our greatest capacity.  

In the video below are three very simple Modern Zen Warrior practices that will help prepare you build a foundation of a healthy, happy and vibrant lifestyle. These exercises simultaneously enhance and fortify the mind, body, spirit connection: This is the hallmark of the  Modern Zen Warrior methodology.

The sequence presented was strategically designed from the MZW perspective intended for greatest efficacy of human development. Qi Gong awakens the body preparing it to sit in meditation. Our spiritual body awakens via meditation resulting in an inner stillness and peace.  This inner stillness becomes the backbone for our mind in the affirmation practice.

Affirmation Ideas

I am divine intelligence

I am strong and balanced no matter who I’m with or where I am

I am here to learn grow & love

I am courageous

I am soul in a human body

I am unstoppable

I am a loving soul in a human body

I am intuitively guided by my soul & the universe

I am breathing deeply to raise my vibration

I am harmony

I am complete

I choose to show up in my life & honor the opportunity that I have been given

I am flexible to change in my life.  The more accepting I am of change the easier it is.

I am opening my heart to universal love

I am receptive and allowing for all that I desire to manifest

I am deserving

I am willing to free myself from the chains of the past.  I am healing deeply

I am filled with energy and vitality

I am compassion

I am freedom

I am healthy happy and whole

I believe in myself

I think thoughts filled with positivity.

I am inner peace

I am worthy

I am motivated and inspired to make choices from a higher good

I choose to believe everything that is happening now is for my greater good.

Feel free to use any combination of these affirmations, rotate them daily, weekly monthly and or make up your own!

Practice Variations/Suggestions

1. Begin with one two or all three of the practices.
2. If you start with one practice you may want to add another practice the second week & the last one the third week.  Or you may want to add one practice per month.
3. If you do more than one practice, do them in any order that feels good to you
4. The practices can be done morning noon or night. One time per day, two times per day or more.  I’ve found the morning is the ideal time for me to do to these practices. My mind is rested and more relaxed. It also makes me feel good that I’ve taken care of my mind body & spirit before I tend to anything else. This sets me up positively and holistically up for the rest of the day, feeling healthy happy & peaceful. The evening hours may be the best time for you.  It may support you to release stresses of the day offering a good night’s sleep waking up feeling refreshed and relaxed. Experiment to find your best time.
5. When you’ve determined the best time of the day for you, choose that same time everyday.  This helps us to secure a habit & develop disciple.

You have the freedom and the power to create your own experience.  Your boutique design encourages you to do what matches harmoniously with your life, your lifestyle, your interests, your desires.

Everyone can do these practices, they’re safe, can be done anywhere, and need no special equipment.