It is that special, crucial, life-changing time of the year when one is overcome by (multiple choice, so take your pick):
- Guilt
- Graciousness
- Hopelessness
- Decisiveness
- Regret
- Helplessness
- Determination
Over what, you might ask? Well, just about every personal goal. Year-enders augur well for year-starters. The order of the day is to get started on that goal you have long set for yourself but never really gotten around to doing.
Crimes against the self
See for yourself what you have been doing or overdoing that will eventually cause your own undoing. Remember, this is all about garbage out, not garbage in.
- Skipping breakfast
- Sugar loading
- Binge eating
- Late nights out
- Sleeping less than seven hours nightly
- Sleeping beyond the ninehour limit
- Starving yourself during the day
- Overeating at night
- Indulging in junk food
- No exercise
- No vegetable intake
- All-protein and all-carbohydrate intake
- Choosing fried food over steamed/boiled or baked food
- Midnight snacking on salty/sweet/oily and heavy items
- Giving in to your cravings all of the time
- Not drinking enough water
- Neglecting your personal hygiene
- Not taking a bath or brushing your teeth
- Not having regular medical and dental checkups
- Not consulting your doctor when you should
- Being in denial over your body aches and pains
- Substituting soda for water
- Caffeine overloading
- Eating even if you are not hungry
- Overworking
- Bringing work to your home
- Working when you should be resting
- Evolving into a couch potato
- Playing e-games all day while disrupting meals and sleep time
- Being unable to control one’s temper, or losing one’s temper needlessly
- Expecting the worst from people and situations
- Being too sensitive and emotional about things
- Crying instead of analyzing the reason for the impulse to cry
- Being suspicious to the point of paranoia
- Being vicious
- Getting violent
- Telling yourself you are inferior, inadequate, incapable and incompetent
- Telling yourself that you are stupid
- Forgetting to pray
- Complaining and whining all the time
- Being too controlling of people and situations
- Being too carefree and lax about yourself and life
- Holding grudges no matter how trivial
- Being in a codependent relationship
- Being dishonest toward yourself and others by withholding the truth
- Thinking about problems all the time
- Talking about bad things
- Replaying in your mind the negatives you have experienced
- Not forgiving someone who has wronged or disappointed you
- Saying no to a little fun
- Rejecting love in your life
Beginning today
Promise yourself. It is said that it is easier to break a promise made to someone instead of to the self.
Promise list: Beginning today, not yesterday or tomorrow, I will, to the best of my ability, choose:
- Love over hatred
- Health instead of sickness
- Wellness, not unwellness
- Peace, not war
- Victory over defeat
- Compromise instead of argument
- Belief over disbelief
- Faith over hopelessness
- The positive over the negative
- Laughter over anger
- Kindness over cruelty
- Courage over fear
- Enthusiasm over apathy
- Commitment over uninvolvement
- Exercise over laziness
- Nutritiously rich food instead of junk food
- Balance instead of the extreme
- Moderation instead of overindulgence
- Run, walk, dance instead of sit, sleep and staying put
- Movement over inertia
- Sleep versus sleeplessness
- Smile instead of frown
This week’s affirmation:
“I claim one victory after another.”
Love and light!
E-mail: coryquirino1@yahoo.com