It's the simple things.

The new year is upon us and we have another chance to confront the ole' resolutions. Unfortunately the new year seems to fall at the end of a tumultuous season for most people and the momentum of the hectic flow seems to carry through overwhelming our good intentions. What will make the difference between future success or failure?

A lot of my philosophy has stemmed from the work of Jiddu Krishnamurti. I have always gone against the grain which created a conflict between my anti-establishment nature and the structure we need to survive and thrive. In Krishnamurti's work he discusses the fatal flaw of discipline being an aberration of a hierarchical society. Basically discipline is forced upon us to quell our desires or cravings for better living and a more loving existence. We are told that more important than what our hearts want is the role society needs us to fill. You must listen to your parents. You must do what they say in school. You must do what your bosses tell you. You must accept the perspective of corporate media. Discipline means there is something you don't want to do but must do and this creates a conflict.

Better than doing things out of discipline is doing things out of love. This means that instead of forcing myself, against the grain, to go to sleep early as I prepare for an event, I'm better off going to sleep early because I love sleep and the blessed recovery it provides. This means that when I'm invited to go hangout and party I don't say, "I would like to hangout but I begrudgingly must go home as an act of discipline". Instead I say, "I would love to hangout but I love the benefits of sleep and my ultimate goals even more so I must go home as an act of love". There is perhaps a subtle difference in wording. It may seem like just an issue of semantics but words are powerful. Our thoughts are our prayers.

I am not completely opposed to discipline. If you have a tournament or big job interview coming up and you find yourself having trouble getting to bed, it may not be the time for philosophical introspection. Many people thrive on discipline and many of those stern disciplinarians have gone on to be powerful leaders. What I am suggesting is that the motivation of love offers something potentially much more powerful. The main issue I've found is that to be truly loving it takes a certain level of mature understanding. It's easy to say, "Yea, I'm a loving person" and then find yourself confused and unmotivated. Cultivation of love is a constant practice.

Are you seeing the simplicity yet? Let me sum this up. As you approach this new year of resolutions do not put yourself in a conflict. Society presents a body image that we have to strive for to be accepted. Many of those body ideals presented to us are unrealistic and irrational. What I suggest is that you love and accept yourself. Communicate with yourself. Do you want to get in shape because that is what you think you're supposed to do? Or is it what you truly want because you love your existence and want to make the most out of our conscious time on Earth? When you see things in this perspective your choices and the better of those choices becomes more clear.

Visualize who you want to be and take the simple albeit serious steps to make that vision a reality. You may be thinking, "That's a lot easier said than done. That gungho mentality may work for cleaning the dishes but it's not that easy to fly a plane, fight an MMA bout, run a marathon, land that dream job or improve a difficult relationship". Or is it? Life delivers all types of hardships. To different individuals the same anxiety level is reached regardless of the actual intensity of the task at hand. It seems like things are only going to get more difficult in many ways as I gain the resources to tackle greater obstacles. The work may seem difficult but the choice is the easy part. Once you've made that choice the task is practically accomplished if your choice is genuine.

To quote or paraphrase Einstein, "Make things as simple as they need to be and no simpler."

My strategy is one foot in front of the other.