Positive Thoughts for the New Year
Welcome to 2011.
I want to start by saying that we’re glad you’re here. We’re happy to see you and welcome you to the Spa when you’re here, but we’re also glad you’re here reading this Blog, which says to us that Glen Ivy is a place you’ve come to know and love and trust. In that spirit, I’d like to ask that you not only read but also share. We value your opinions, thoughts, comments, and stories, and we welcome them all.
Today is Monday – the first workday of the year and based on the morning news, Facebook, Twitter, and the many blogs that I’ve read thus far today, it’s clear that everyone is optimistic, hopeful and eager to welcome all that this year will bring. I’ve also noticed that right now much of the world is focused on resolutions and making goals for the year – most all of which are centered on living healthy and being happy: the deep down roots of spa. For us at Glen Ivy, the business of spa is about people and the lifestyle of spa isn’t only when you visit one – it’s about the way you live wherever you are, all year long. So for us, too, the topic of resolutions is top of mind this Monday, only instead of “resolutions,” we prefer to call them “intentions.”
While doing some research for our January Monthly Challenge, I came across this article in USA Today which discusses the difference between resolutions and intentions: “An intention is a direction – a course you set for yourself. You can’t fail at an intention; sometimes you can just get off course. And intentions are positive. Studies show that you’re more likely to succeed at goals that you feel positively about – getting healthy – than at those that are seen as negative, like going on a diet.”
So, this year, why not actually succeed at what you hope for? Try establishing a set of intentions, and see to it that the things you do in your life this year help you get there.
Or, try this approach: blogger Tim Walker tried out a method used by social media guru Chris Brogan, who at the beginning of each year decides upon three words that will be his focused themes or mantras. In Tim’s words, “There’s something to be said for this approach, as opposed to setting resolutions. Among other things, it helps you to think thematically about things that are important to you — a positive attitude, for example — rather than getting stuck in the technicalities (and attendant frustrations) of a particular goal, such as losing 30 pounds.” Tim chose Calm. Clean. Bodacious. as his three words. Read why he chose those three words to focus on for 2011.
It’s my optimistic intention for the year to be more productive and more focused on the things that make me happy. Again borrowing from Chris Brogan, who in this post talks about Paying Yourself First, the philosophy in which you give yourself the permission, time and space to do what serves you best so that you can restfully, happily, creatively, and usefully serve others.
For a great start in this New Year, read more about the effects of positive thinking and plan to join us for the next Vision Board workshop on Thursday, January 6.
To your health & happiness,
Jennifer
