Member Article

It’s out with New Year’s Resolutions

Green Space Life Coaching founder Karen Liebenguth gives us some top tips to help us stay on track with any New Year’s Resolutions we might have.

So many expectations rest on the month of January – the month of starting anew, the month that fills us with hope that we will do all the things we really want to do, that we have been postponing until the New Year.

It’s great to tap into fresh energy and that sense of a new life chapter the New Year brings, but why is it that our resolutions are so short lived, that all the things we want to do so wholeheartedly, drop off our agenda so quickly?

What can we do differently in order to do the things we want to do?

Tip 1: Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, try being clear about your intentions for the next year.

Having intentions feels lighter, more manageable, less like one-off actions. We can make intentions at any time of the year – we needn’t feel we’ve failed if we revisit an intention we made at the beginning of the year and see how on track we are.

Tip 2: Prepare for your intentions

Go for a walk in your local park or create some comfortable and enjoyable time for yourself at home and reflect on what your intentions might be for the year.

Take your journal or a piece of paper and write them down. Make sure they come out as actions that feel manageable which you can achieve over a period of time (i.e. not one-offs that will make it hard for you to come back to).

Or instead of writing a list, make a mind map i.e. put My Intentions 2012 in the middle of an A4 or A3 sheet of paper and dot your intentions around it – use a different colour pen for each intention and any bullet points to help you keep on track.

Tip 3: Keep your intentions top of mind

Have your mind map of your 2012 intentions somewhere visible to remind you of them, i.e. on your desk, on your fridge, in your diary/smart phone etc, or even a few different places.

Karen says,

We often put too many New Year’s Resolutions on our list. And many of these are often unmanageable, too big and hence overwhelming and so the process ends in disappointment and resentment.

What has worked well for me over the past years is to spend some time becoming clear about my intentions for the next year. For me having intentions feels more manageable than making resolutions; less like one-off actions. Intentions are something I can come back to at any time and not feel I’ve failed if I don’t find time to complete them in January.

Karen offers 1:1 coaching while walking in London parks and green spaces on Fridays and Saturdays all year round. Sessions run for one hour and clients are advised on what to wear. All prospective clients are offered a free 30 minute taster session by phone or by Skype. She also offers indoor coaching from consultation rooms in Bethnal Green and Islington.

Karen also runs a series of Nature Connection workshops throughout the summer and Seasonal Nature Connection Walks an hour by train from London. The Winter Season Walk will take place in Boxhill Surrey, on Saturday 4 February. Meeting point Victoria Train Station 9.15am. To book a place on the walk email: karen@greenspacecoaching.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nicola Alexander .