Becoming Yourself

Developing a Better You

Tag: New Year’s Resolutions (Page 1 of 2)

The Only New Year’s Resolution You’ll Ever Need

January 6, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Sometimes the simplest things are the most profound.

That’s what I thought when read my friend Tom Leveen’s recent author newsletter. He’s a fabulous writer and an insightful thinker. I hope you’re as inspired as I am by his words, and that they help you take another step toward Becoming Yourself.



You only need one resolution. THE ONLY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION YOU’LL EVER NEED:
  
Do one pushup, with a straight back, chest to ground, perfect form.
 
Can’t do that? Do one pushup from your knees.
 
Can’t do that? Do one push-off from the wall.
 
(Can’t do that? Call your doctor and make an appointment now, you are in a bad, bad way.)
 
Then tomorrow, do it again. Do it every day until you get comfortable. Then do two. When two becomes comfortable, do three.
 
Can you already bust out 50 pushups? Cool. Bust out 51.
 
Can you walk comfortably 10 minutes? Walk 11.
 
Can you jog for 60 minutes straight? Jog 61.
 
Do you need to reduce your added sugar intake? (Spoiler alert: Yes.) Total up all your added grams of sugar on January 1, and on January 2, eat 1 gram less. When that’s comfortable, eat 2 grams less.
 
You do not need to join a gym. Save your money. You do not need expensive running shoes. Save your money. All you really need is your body, and a clear space on the floor about the size of a prison cell.
 
The only resolution you ever need to make is to get 1% better every day. For the rest of your life.
 
Do that, and I swear to you you’ll be stunned at how many goals you’ve crushed this time next year. Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, financial, creative. Whatever.
 
That is how I went from weighing 120 pounds and in the worst depression of my life to weighing more than 150 pounds (lean muscle!) and completing 13.5 hours of a physical crucible coached by retired Navy SEALs.

 

When a 60+ year-old retired combat veteran Master Chief who just an hour previous was screaming in your ear to GET OFF YOUR KNEES, LEVEN! shakes your hand, looks you in the eye, and says, “You did it! I’m proud of you!” you feel that shit in your soul, and it lasts forever.
 
The first time you bust out a Murph (1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 pushups, 300 squats, and another 1 mile run) in 75 minutes, you realize your old way of thinking about limitations is over.
 
The first time you bang out 50 pushups in 2 minutes, you start to re-evaluate your creative, artistic, and business goals.
 
The first time you knock out 5,000 words of a novel in one day, you realize the old paradigms don’t apply anymore.

 

Do not compare yourself to anyone else. You are only competing against your own baseline to get 1% better today than yesterday at your goal. 

That’s it. You got this. 1% better than yesterday.
 
Thank you so much for being here. I’ve got some great stories to tell you in 2024, I can’t wait to share them with you!

Take care, 
~ Tom

P.S.
My linktree is the best place to keep up with all my projects – YA novels, comics, horror stories, audiobooks and podcasts…all of it! I’ve started two new serials as well.

linktr.ee/tomleveen

Tom Leveen is an award-winning novelist and Bram Stoker Award finalist who has written for the comic book series SPAWN and fiction for the BattleTech RPG. For Tom’s YA, horror, and more, check out linktr.ee/tomleveen

Pursuing Joy with a ‘Focus Word’

January 9, 2021 / / 2 Comments

In my last post, I shared how I found my “focus word” for 2020 (you can read that story here).

This past week, I repeated the process for 2021. Instead of a single clear word, what came to mind as I listened was my recent Enneagram results. Enneagram is a personality profiling tool that’s very helpful in personal growth. I took the test over the holidays and found that I am a “One” type (you can take the free test here). As I continued to listen and reflect, I remembered reading that when Ones are developing in a healthy way, they become more spontaneous and joyful. The word “joyful” stood out to me. It stuck. It felt right. Here’s what I wrote after that listening prayer:

I asked God if She had a new focus word for me for the new year. I didn’t hear anything at first, but then my mind started reflecting on what I’d learned from my Enneagram test results reading I did yesterday. I’m a 1 with a 9 wing. When a 1 is healthy and growing, they move toward being more spontaneous and joyful like a healthy 7. The word joyful stuck out. At first I was skeptical. Joyful? Me? How can you MAKE yourself joyful or focus on being joyful? But something about it feels right. It sounds good. I’d like to be more joyful this year. I’m going to sit with it for a few days and ask for confirmation. Either way, it seems a healthy area of growth.

A recent experience made me feel like I’m on the right track. As I prepared to do my normal morning exercise of walking the stairs in my condo building, I glanced out the window at the large hill down the street. I decided to work on my spontaneity. Before I fell mindlessly into my habit, I told my wife Lisa that I was going to climb the hill. Well aware of my routine nature, she was surprised. I left before I could talk myself out of it.

View of the hill I climbed from our window

When I reached the top of the hill, I left the trail and explored a cave we had noticed from our condo. After descending, I took a different route on my way home and discovered a wonderful secluded walkway with several fountains. A few minutes later, I lingered beneath a huge tree whose canopy filled my vision as I gazed upward. I had forgotten how healing it can be to soak up nature, even right in the middle of the city. When I arrived home, I realized something wonderful – I felt joyful. My intentional spontaneity (which I realize is nearly an oxymoron) led me to joy.

What changes do you want for your life this year? Who would you like to be twelve months from now? Choose a focus word that captures that desire. Make it simple. Make it clear. Make it memorable. Recite it daily. If you do, you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.

Tired of New Year’s Resolutions? Try a Focus Word

January 2, 2021 / / 2 Comments

On January 1st, 2020 I asked God if She had a word for me for the new year (the She is intentional – it reminds me that God is beyond gender).

I know that for some of my readers, the idea of asking God for anything, let alone expecting a response, is absurd. I understand and respect that position. But based on a lifetime of personal experience and some rational arguments that make sense to me, I believe in God. In addition, as strange as it sounds, I think a conversational intimacy with God is possible. Not in the same way as you and I would chat over coffee of course. No audible words or a voice booming from the sky. But a still, quiet sense of presence. A deep feeling, a relaxing of the gut. A word or phrase brought to my mind or heart that is somehow distinct from my own manufactured thoughts or the after effects of last night’s pizza.

But I digress. The point of this post is not to articulate the possibility or mechanics of a conversation with God. The point is, She answered:

Peace

That’s the word that came to my mind, strong and clear as a ringing bell. Whether it was from God or not, that word “peace” felt right as a focus word for the unknown year that stretched ahead of me. Little did I know at the time how much I would need it in 2020.

Immediately after that prayer, I sent myself the following email:

“I asked God if She had a word for me to focus on for the new year. I heard peace. I felt my whole body relax as I processed it. Peace vs striving. Peacefully focusing on one task at a time vs plowing quickly through a list. Pausing. Taking breaks. Helping, serving, blessing others, and accomplishing tasks out of the overflow of my life vs draining my tank, like a basin at the top of a fountain that fills to the brim then spills out onto everything around it.”

I kept that email in my inbox all year as a reminder. I was soon able to quote it verbatim, and I asked God to help me to live out of a sense of peace nearly everyday. Whenever the stress of coronavirus, social isolation, economic uncertainty, national divisions, deep disappointments, or complex decisions threatened to drown me, I clung to my focus word “peace” like a life preserver. It helped me regain perspective, find strength, and hold onto hope.

Now that 2020 is thankfully behind us, I’ll ask God if She has a new word for me for the new year. Perhaps I’ll hear nothing this time. Maybe I’ll hang on to “peace” a little while longer. I’m okay either way.

Do you have a focus word for the new year? Something you can cling to when the seas of life get rough? A word to give you courage and perspective, a signpost to direct you back to your chosen path? If you want to try praying for one, great. If you want to come up with your word on your own, fantastic. Make it simple. Make it clear. Put it where you’ll see it everyday. Work it into a daily mantra or meditation or prayer. If you do, your focus word will serve you well in the year ahead, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.

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