Originally posted in 1998.
Happy New Year!
The following are my LIFETIME RESOLUTIONS. It is sort of my personal "Reference Guide/Help File for Life."
I put these thoughts together around 1990 and the list has never been edited since. I re-read them every New Years...and sometimes more often when I remember them...and I wish I had remembered them a couple of weeks ago! LOL! I used to have them printed out and posted over my desks at home and at work, but I moved so many times that the only place I could remember where I put them was on my old website! Now they are here on my blog, and despite being nearly 20 years old, are still timeless.
The books referred to are Dan Millman: "Way of the Peaceful Warrior"; and Richard Bach: "Illusions", "Bridge Across Forever" & "One", among others.
LIFETIME RESOLUTIONS
Continually ask myself this question: "Am I doing at this moment what I most want to do? And if not, WHY NOT?!"
Continue the challenge of facing fear head-on.
Try everything at least once before deciding whether I like it or not. And sometimes even MORE than once if it is something I am embarrassed or frightened of.
Learn to recognize a potential problem before it hides in the subconscious.
Ask for and accept gracefully the criticisms of others. Take what fits and leave the rest behind.
Stay firm in my resolve to be ME at all times.
Don't walk in anyone else's shadow.
Never lie to the dog.
Stand up not only for MY rights, but for WHAT is right.
Let it flow and let it go.
If anyone should ask "why", simply answer "why not?"
Treasure each moment as though it were my last - for it just may be...
Remember that all are immortal and one with every living thing in the universe, death is merely a mortal illusion - a trick played on us by our primitive brains.
See myself in everyone and learn from the outcome of their choices.
I am as young as I want to be - age is only a measure of time that doesn't exist in any realm but my mind. Time itself is but a man-made illusion.
Stay self-reliant and self-sufficient..
Be aware of and beware of dependency...NO ONE is worth losing my soul over.
Read people's words...not their minds...ABSOLUTELY MOST POSITIVELY IMPORTANT!!
Never inflict on others the cruelties I have endured - always let people KNOW where they stand and never flirt or toy with them or tease them for sport.
Remember always that others have feelings, too, and they can be bruised just as easily and painfully as I was. NO ONE deserves that kind of pain - NO ONE!
Don't EVER give mixed signals! Total honesty at ALL times.
If communication ceases, don't cease to communicate.
Know that all my paths in life exist and that it is up to me to choose which one to follow each day.
Do not make choices by default, be an active participant in my own life.
Somehow learn to FOCUS!!
Return to school and finish that bachelor's degree - in SOMETHING, DAMN IT - FOCUS!!!!!
Remember that my intelligence does not require a piece of paper for it to exist naturally.
I don't need to prove anything to anyone...except to myself.
Stop envying traits in others - cultivate them in myself!
Remember that being alone is essential for growth both in myself and in those around me. Being alone together is the sincerest form of friendship.
Each "mistake" is simply an unexpected learning experience. Cherish the mistakes.
There are no "wrong" relationships. Each one is a learning experience to aid in finding the "right" one. (You have to kiss a lot of toads before you ever find the prince).
Make lemonade out of every lemon life hands me...and add a little sugar in the form of humor, too. :>
If I don't take emotional risks, how can I ever expect to succeed? You only fail by not trying in the first place.
Continue to see the humor and paradox in life - rejoice in the illusion of it all!
I choose my own emotions - there is no need for me to ever be angry or depressed because I can choose my own happiness.
Do not dwell on past events, they cannot be changed, only learned from.
Accept the things I cannot change (such as the behavior of another person); have courage to change the things I can (such as my attitude toward a given situation) and make sure I know the difference between the two!
Nothing can be changed until it is faced.
Be strong always...it CAN be done! Remember my Rainbow Warrior...
Do not forget that I am the sum of all the positive definitions and descriptions of my name. It fits me perfectly.
Do not have expectations, life doesn't follow any script.
Do not allow others to drag me down or stifle me - I am capable of making my own decisions.
Only -I- am the Captain of my fate and the Master of my soul.
Love myself FIRST...it is the greatest love of all.
Remember that no one is ever too fat to be loved...
Embarrassment is non-existent if you truly don't care what others think.
Build self-defense skills so that weight loss can happen.
Just enough is always just right.
Remember always that THINGS TAKE TIME...
Know I am beautiful on the inside...where it counts!
The inner person is ALWAYS more important than the exterior that they present.
Do not allow a skin deep barrier to block the vision to one's soul.
Never forget the inner flame that is the Rainbow Warrior. It is my core of strength and dignity and burns eternal.
Re-read Bach and Millman at LEAST once a year...preferably more often...and definitely as needed.
Know that I am not given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. I may have to work at it however.
Remember the blue feather in the agate slice...and how it got there. ;>
Whether I think I can or I think I can't - I'm right...and I -know- I CAN!
Play only games where everyone wins. Never trample another for ANY reason...
Acceptance and forgiveness - Accept others for their differences, forgive them their shortcomings. We are all perfect in our own ways.
Never take any of my friends for granted, they are the most special people in the world. Never let them forget it... :>
Share these life gifts with others - it is the only way to repay those who have shared them with me.
About Crystal Eikanger
Crystal Eikanger is a freelance writer, web designer, video editor and voice talent working as Ei-Kan Productions on www.rentacoder.com as well as other freelance sites.
