The Educated Emotion

Photo, "A Snowy Day in Michigan" Courtesy of Bryan Johnson , 2011 Yesterday afternoon, I was quietly thinking about how I would spend the rest of my day.  Having the house, and time, to myself after non-stop holiday activity was just too good to not enjoy. I decided to take a nap and just allow myself to wake up when my body told me to. Only problem is, there was this one fly that didn't get the memo. He danced on the ceiling and buzzed between my blinds and the light globe relentlessly. When I got to the height of my irritation, I had a spiritual "bop" upside my head: having to deal with a fly in late December in Michigan is a miracle. The same miracle that allowed me to take a walk on dry land wearing just a sweater, not have to clean off my car, and turn down my heat. Today, Michigan is looking like Christmas again. I woke up to snowy roads and wet tires on pavement making dirty noises outside my window. As a Michigander, grim forecasts for driver...

Why do you make New Year's resolutions? There is a great chance that you will not meet your goals. Studies show that about 50% of people who make resolutions discard them by June and only 12% achieve them. Why bother? If you can answer this loaded question in a single sentence, perhaps you should not bother. Just because you would like to see an improvement, does not mean you are ready for the change necessary to make that happen. That doesn't make you a bad person or the goal bad, it just might not be the right time. The reason behind each resolution much be bigger than any obstacle you might face in order for it to consistently rise to the top of your priorities. I recently read " The Power to Reinvent Yourself " and the first chapter is dedicated to understanding your 'why?' The author contends that you will only change when your 'why' gets bigger than your circumstances, limitations, excuses, etc. So, it doesn't really matter about the h...