Make, and Keep, Your Meaningful New Year's Resolutions
By Frank Ra
Time for New Year's resolutions! As new immigrants to Canada, we have even more reasons and energy to make them successful. A way to formulate a winning resolution is by being:
Aware and accepting: You've explored various aspects of your life in Canada, and understood your priorities for 2012 and for the medium term. You can contact organizations, like YWCA, who can help you discover your strengths. You also accept that whatever change you want to implement, it will require your time and commitment.
Meaningful and motivated: Your New Year's resolution for 2012 will make a difference in your life, and in the life of the people around you. You are motivated to implement it.
Active and attentive: You formulate a positive resolution, focused on your actions (being/doing what you want to do), and stick to it. You are attentive to the signals your body and mind send you, in addition to the ones provided by the people and environment around you.
Resilient and respectful: You can keep your resolution, even when external circumstances are not facilitating it. That's the importance of resilience: being able to bounce back on your feet, even during challenging situations. At the same time, you respect everyone. We are all in the same boat, figuring out our present and future, trying to do the best with it. You cultivate a support network, sharing your New Year's resolution with people you trust. You build new connections. For example, perhaps you join a mentoring program which matches Canadian immigrants to local business people and professionals.
Eating properly and exercising: No matter if your resolution is focused on being even fitter, or on something else, you benefit from feeding your body and mind with appropriate food, in appropriate quantities, and by exercising. This ensures you have full energy to devote to your resolution. You can try healthy, locally-grown food.
Reading the initial of each of the suggested approaches above, you see the word AmAre, which in Italian means "to love". These are effective inspirations and approaches to make, and keep, your meaningful New Year's resolution. Everything else is implementation. :-)
About the author: Frank Ra (http://www.AmAre.ca) was born in Italy, and traveled around the world before settling in Vancouver in 2009.