Hello! I hope the New Year finds you safe and healthy. Like many, I’m beginning this year with resolutions attached to some goals. In previous years, my goals have always been pretty nebulous. More of an idea of what I wanted or where I felt I needed to focus. The goals were too vague (Exercise More, Eat Healthier) and had no milestones against which I could measure them for “success”. Because of this, I routinely fell off the wagon, so to speak, after a few weeks of diligent (or not-so-diligent) work.
In order to make this year more successful, I’m going to add in some rigor to the goal-setting. I’m making a bulleted list (below) that I will be checking regularly…wait, too vague…at least twice a week. I will be documenting my progress here once a week. And I will be asking for a couple of things from you.
First, hold me accountable. If I haven’t posted an update, ask for one. In my prior life, accountability was always important for others (sadly, less for myself at times) that may have been working for or with me. Now it’s time to apply that to myself more than to others. I owe it to you to be responsive and I owe it to myself. I want to build the best me I can and I humbly ask your help.
Next, I want you to tell me about your goals and resolutions. Your successes and struggles, and, if you’ve been doing Qigong with me, how that has helped you on your journey. I want you to continue to realize your greatest potential and if I can help you, it is truly my honor to do so. So, the list of goals…
- Breathe, Every Day.
- According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the lungs are responsible for governing the function and movement of Qi.
- Breathing is a natural physiological function, exchanging gases and energy between the inside and outside environments.
- Through intention, we can learn to recognize and cultivate our own Qi.
- Cultivate Qi, Every Day
- No one’s life is so busy they can’t find some time to work on themselves.
- Out with the bad, in with the good.
- Do For Others, Every Day
- It doesn’t have to be big or dramatic. In fact, in my mind, if the act is big and dramatic there’s a decent chance it was done for a personal, egoistic, purpose.
- They don’t even have to know.
- Learn Something New, Every Day
- Stagnation leads to death.
- It can be doing something just for the fun of it!
There are a number of people in the world I totally dig. One is my wife. If asked, I’m pretty sure she’d tell you it’s better to plan than not. Another was Bruce Lee. He was known for a lot of things: being a stunning martial artist; a film and television actor; a parent and husband; among others. A couple of quotes attributed to him are worth noting here, because they will inform how I plan on meeting my goals for 2022.
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” — Bruce Lee
“Don’t fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail.” — Bruce Lee
Primarily, I resolve to meet my goals by focusing on them. Every day. I don’t need and probably shouldn’t practice hours on end–this will likely cause burn-out sooner rather than later. Like my wife and Bruce Lee’s first quote above, however, if you ask a Qigong master when and how much you should practice, I suspect they would tell you “practice whenever you can, for as long as you can.” I can do that. Secondly, and with the second quote above in mind, I resolve that even though I am probably not going to meet the “every day” part of my goals, I will not look on that as a failure, but an opportunity to get back up and back to work.
Thank you for reading! I wish you the absolute best and peace in the coming year