My Personal Ground Hog Day

New Year's Day is one of those days when a lot of folks spend time thinking about where they are, what they'd like to do, setting goals and making resolutions.  We do the same.  Like many people at this time of year, we want to get back in shape, lose a few extra pounds - or alot of extra pounds (Bob) - spend more time with family, etc, etc.We make New Year's Resolutions.  Great!
Setting and writing down Goals. Better.
Painting a vision for the future. Best.
I'm no artist, but I know that when I first visualize the outcome of an endeavor, it is far more likely to come in to being.  A properly "painted" vision becomes an emotional, spiritual, psychological, intellectual, and even physical flag I plant high atop the mountain of my future, and it draws me up towards it.
It's my point of hope when the present situation seems dim.
It's my point of focus, when allocating resources.
It's the thing that all my efforts must be working towards, all the time.
My  vision is the thing that rises above the volume and crud of everyday life, 24 hour news, flat tires, high taxes, hang-overs, illness, dirty clothes, and invading space aliens.

SO for those of us who are maybe a little rusty when it comes to painting the big picture, here's a little trick.  It's a fun trick, I promise.
Before trying to paint that big picture for the future I want, I am going to go and rent or buy that movie GroundHog Day - you know, the one with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, and watch it a few times. Here's a handy link http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/
Note: I say rent or buy, because we are talking about our future and it must be built on solid ground. We have to be willing to invest in it. Personally, I'd buy it. It's a great movie. It's funny. It's great for keeping focus.
Now that I have the movie, I am going to make some popcorn and watch that rascal a few times.
Then I am going to let the idea of living out the same day over and over again sink in for awhile.
This, dear reader, is the method of the madness.
Many folks, myself included, set goals and resolutions, like, "lose 20 pounds", "Get in shape", "Finish my degree", "Go to Spain", "Run a marathon", "Buy a car", etc. We generally accomplish these goals.  The problem is, they become individual events and aren't tied in to an overall quality of life.
A two week vacation to Spain is wonderful, unless the rest of my life is a living hell that I can't stand and can't seem to change.  Far better to skip the vacation and focus on getting the rest of the 50 weeks of my year closer to something that doesn't have me tired of life, but instead has me excited to get up everyday, happy, fired-up, and fun to be around.

It's a lifestyle focus. Skip the events (at first) and focus on the day I want to live everyday - my personal Ground Hog Day.

Where do I wake up?
Who do I wake up with?
What do I do between getting up and eating breakfast?
What do I eat for breakfast?  Where do I eat? Who do I eat with? What do I do while eating?

There's a whole list of these guiding questions that I will detail in the next posting. For now, I am thinking about it and having some fun watching movies.

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