Welcome to a brand new day! A brand new year, even! And like our sitting practice, intention and motivation is especially important at this time. First, we need to recognize the direction that it is that we want to move towards (intentionality) and the reasons why we want to make this shift (motivation).
So, how do we do this?
One very effective way to realign the way we live is to make a list of every activity that we engage in throughout the course of a regular day, and note whether each activity nourishes or depletes us.
| Daily Activity | Nourishing or Depleting? |
| Tea in bed | Nourishing |
| Check the headlines, emails, Facebook | Bordering on depleting |
| Shower | Nourishing |
| Breakfast of coffee and left over Chinese | Depleting |
| Drive to work | Depleting |
| Conversation with raging co-worker about other oblivious co-worker | Depleting |
| Quiet morning of focused work | Nourishing |
| Lunch in the park | Nourishing |
Quickly, we will come to see the patterns and habits that enrich our lives and those that don’t. Once we do this, we have a more realistic picture of what areas of our lives we want to make changes to.
Of course, there are some activities that are depleting, yet necessary. Perhaps we can see if there is any way that we can bring nourishment to these activities. For instance, a drive to work in morning rush hour can be quite depleting. Yet, bringing a favourite CD to listen to in the car, or using every red light to remember the breath can transform this situation. It’s important to get creative.
So, as an alternative to making resolutions this New Year, we’d like to invite you to make your own list of nourishing and depleting activities. Once you do this, intention and motivation come quite easily.
Happy New Year from all of us at the Mindfulness Association!