Saturday, January 7, 2012

Resolution No 1


I have been trying to decide what my New Years Resolution will be and out of the many possibilities.....too many unfortunately....... I have finally started to follow Matt Cutt's advice and have chosen a 30 day activity. So from 3 mornings ago, as I wait for my kettle to boil to make a cup of tea, I create a small dance sequence. My goal is to keep going for the full 30 days. No worrying if is good or bad, or athletic enough or even interesting. Just doing it is fine at the moment. I calculate if I create 15 seconds a day by the end of the 30 days I will have 7 1/2 minutes of dance that can be cut and pasted, turned upside down, danced backwards, danced fast and slow, improvised on and generally played around with.

I find I am someone who functions best with some sort of structure in my life. The Zen way of letting life unfold and simply responding as I mentioned last week is fine in the improvisation class but for me something is missing and that is a goal. After a week of holiday I start getting tetchy and being around me can be a bit explosive.......I might attend to this issue as a resolution as well.......because I don't like being unfocused.

If I didn't have the goal of a performance at the end of the year to choreograph I am sure I would never have made any dance at all. I would have always found an excuse mainly that I was not ready or good enough but "needs must" and consequently this goal has helped me in my own small way develop a choreographic muscle. My dance may not change the world I but I love doing it all the same.

I wonder if others out there find the need for a goal important for their well being. Or if not, what are your strategies in making life meaningful? I would love to hear.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

To Make Resolutions Or Not To Make Resolutions


Oh no its resolution time! And what am I to do? There is so much to improve.....myself, my relationships, my home, the job that I do. Where do I start? I am exhausted and need a lie down or another glass of wine to help me get over the stress of so much needing to be fixed!

But I am taken with Matt Cutt's TED talk on Trying Something New for 30 Days. He started out cycling and ended up climbing a mountain. He makes the point that small sustainable changes are likely to stick rather than the big, grandiose notions of betterment that I have a tendency to go in for.

So where will I start? Keeping my fridge organised and throwing out what is past its used by date would be a good start. Drinking more water. Making a contact list for the school. Learning to be more computer savvy. Keeping up my Yoga practise during the holidays so I am not terribly stiff after the first week of classes. Writing this blog once a week. Agghh....

And then I think maybe accepting where I am right now is the best thing to do. Life will go on and I just have to show up and do what has to be done at that moment as best I can. And can it be bad when there is so much lovely dancing in my life like the class this photo was taken from?

But climbing a mountain does sound interesting....perhaps I should jump on my bike straight away!