Latest Post On Personal Development and Law of Attraction Site

If you enjoyed my last post, you can now find it at a resource rich personal development site at: http://richgrad.com/personal-development-and-law-of-attraction-carnival-1st-edition/

My next post will be part two of “How to Make Lasting 2010 Resolutions” and will detail how to use accountability to make you stick to your goals.

How To Make Lasting 2010 Resolutions

You may be familiar with the usual rush of New Year’s resolutions. January is filled with new promises – vows to be thinner, stronger, smarter, wealthier, happier, healthier. You may have experienced the exhilarating euphoria of making new commitments, feeling an inner renaissance of mind and body, the pristine promise land of a second chance for a better this or a faster that. You may have also noticed the roller coaster drop in motivation that happens when the excitement dies, the holiday spirit fades, and the bitter winter sets in. Why is it so hard to stay committed to our resolutions?

There are two ways to stay on track with your commitments: one, understand the root of the word resolution, and two, make yourself accountable. In this post, I’ll cover the first way.

Understand the Root of Your Resolution

In order to stick to your resolutions and stay motivated to follow through with your promises, it’s important to first understand what the word “resolution” actually means. To make a resolution is commonly interpreted as making a commitment, but the answer as to how to make the commitment and carry through with it is hidden within its root meaning. Here’s how I break it down, using the Online Etymology Dictionary:

1. SOLVE: To solve comes from the Latin root solvere meaning to  “loosen, dissolve”.
2. SOLUTION: From Latin solutionem, a loosening or unfastening.
3. RESOLUTION: From Latin resolutionem, the process of reducing things into simpler forms.

Therefore making a resolution is the act of loosening, breaking down, and simplifying.

Think about why you make resolutions in the first place: to overcome an existing challenge or manifest a currently non-existent circumstance. Either process is about breaking down components to its most fundamental elements. Challenges are best met with a relaxed state of mind, a calm center, and by using the minimal energy required to execute the task.

When I first learned how to do a standing back flip I injected the same amount of energy into the movement as I would have needed for a 400-meter sprint. Every muscle was tense – while my quadriceps pushed massively upwards to launch my body skywards, my hamstrings contracted in response and pulled against my push. Despite my best efforts my initial flips were laborious, rotated slowly, and required much force.

Now, I put the same amount of energy into a back flip as I would doing a simple squat jump. The solution to my hasty, heavy, hindered flips were to resolve my tension – to dissolve, break down, loosen.

When I am relaxed, focused on applying only the energy necessary by understanding what muscles are required, I can be loose, agile, and flexible. I overcome the challenge by finding a solution, or dissolving the barrier.

How to Make A Lasting Resolution

Since the act of making a resolution is the act of breaking down and simplifying, ask where areas of tension or blockages exist in your life. These are good starting points to construct your strategy to resolve them. Commonly, people make the error of saying things like:

• I will lose 30 pounds this year.
• I will make an additional $20,000 this year.
• I will get a job promotion.
• I will take a 4 week vacation.

If you read these statements out loud, you’ll notice they are missing two elements: relaxation and joy. Without these qualities in the statements, you would be setting yourself up for an arduous battle, constantly fighting the circumstances, wondering why things don’t turn out the way you want them to. There is a better way. Back to the dictionary:

1. RESOLVE: To loosen, dissolve. Also means “determination”, usage first recorded in 1592.
2. DETERMINE: From Latin determinare, to set limits to, and from terminare, to mark the end of, boundary.

If we combine the original meanings of the words “resolution” and “determination (originating from resolve)”, we discover a very interesting interpretation for your New Year’s resolutions.

RESOLUTION: To limit tension, tightness, and blockages by loosening, dissolving, and simplifying.

So, rather than adopt a forceful attitude to get things done right this year, try the opposite approach of relaxing, flowing, and letting events occur naturally. This is against society’s highly rewarded type A individuals, contrary to the attitude that “hard work” is the answer to everything.

Resolution is therefore an act of limiting stress, or the assertive attitude that you will not allow disharmony and complication into your life. Your conscious choice is a path of simplification, dissolution and the active refusal of anything that unfavorably brings about tension.

The interesting conclusion is that resolution is not even a thing you do (lose 30 pounds, run a marathon, spend more time with the kids) but a state of mind from which you execute your actions.

In Shape And Being Healthy

There’s a big difference between being in shape and being healthy. You can be healthy but not be in shape, and you can be in shape but not be in good health. When I was training for the circus I was in great shape. I was a lean 165 pounds, ripped to the core, training 8 to 10 hours a day. I’d start the morning with handstands and finish the day doing chin ups. Three times a week I would train MMA style at the local fighter’s gym and teach self-defense at night. This went on for four years.

But I was not healthy, despite my fit appearance, acrobatic agility, and intense physical lifestyle. I’d start the morning with a chocolate muffin and milk and finish the day eating instant Ramen noodles. Most of the week I was in pain – a rotating kind – where each day the suffering would migrate to a new part of the body. I had severe back issues for most of my second year in training, sprained ankles for most of my third, and uncountable cuts, bruises, bumps, and scars for the entire duration. I fought the flu at least 2 to 3 times a year. I ate randomly, whenever I wanted, and almost always the food contained sugar and white flour. I slept late, woke early, trained hard, and slept late again.

The outside projected pristine health – the glowing physical prowess of an athlete in training, full of youth, well-oiled body parts, and a fully revved engine. I was hitting red line RPMs with a smile on my face and eagerness in my heart. The totality of training was a way of being extreme, young, and fully alive.

I was definitely in shape but not healthy. Slowly, my body was falling apart. This youthful race car was starting to hiccup and limp to the finish line. By the time I completed my training I was strong, skilled – and injured. My grand denouement or final act at the circus school was a pulled rib cartilage that rendered me incapable of even sitting up on my own. I was condemned to four weeks of shallow breathing, slow walking, and much time to reflect.

There was a gradual dawning that although I could make the packaging look good, the contents inside were rotting. I needed to invest in better foods, wiser training habits, and more sleep. Health was an elusive benefit that not even a professional acrobat was privy too. You had to work for health too.

Although today I may not be doing the same number of flips, jumps, and spins as I did during my training, I consider my current state as one of the healthiest ever. I am mostly without pain, with the exception of the occasional intense workout. I eat well and allow myself to be indulgent when I want to be. When I’ve had enough of Thanksgiving turkey, apple pie, and cider beer, my body tells me and I naturally bounce back to eating fresh, organic foods again. My body knows health, and is attracted to it.

I’m not at my performance weight but not far from it. I train when my body feels like moving – which is almost every day, but not always. I sit and watch Friends reruns and then get up and hike in the desert. The definition of health has changed for me over the years and it is by far the healthiest yet.

I used to never drink, fast for days, do week long herbal cleanses, and exercise religiously. It was a regiment of to do’s to align myself with what I thought was true health. I felt great for a while, but in the end, lost the rhythm of the cleanse, changed exercise programs, and gravitated to a new type of fast. It wasn’t consistent.

My current understanding of true health is the ability to carefully listen to the needs of your body and act upon them. Over-training is as dangerous as not moving at all. Severe diets, cleanses, and fasts can be as detrimental as junk food for breakfast everyday. There is only one book that can give you the recipe for greater health, and that book is written by you.

To drink in consciousness, to eat ice cream in consciousness, and to watch football in consciousness is a greater sign of health than exercising because a sheet of paper, handed to you by your trainer, tells you to do so. Developing consciousness is the greatest catalyst for developing sustainable and natural health, because you already know what you need. All you have to do is listen for it, and then act upon it.

How to Choose Your Passion

Consider this: Do you ever get bored of reading the same books over and over again and not getting results? Are you fed up with experts telling you that there are 12 steps to success? Do you feel unfulfilled when you’ve finally done it all, and come home to an empty house?

Now read on.

I have a constant supply of books in my house that I like to read and re-read from time to time. Recently I scanned over my collection (my library, which happens to be the bathroom) and didn’t see anything I liked anymore. There’s an eclectic collection of business books, personal development, and spiritual matters. None of them, but one, caught my eye.

That one book is a free atlas of North America I got when I signed up for auto insurance at State Farm. It’s one of those big trucker atlases you get when your road trip really gets down to business.

It occurred to me that I like looking at maps because it makes me wonder what this new city, mountain range, ocean, stretch of road, looks like. I imagine.

It occurred to me that I like to travel to places to see new people, meet old friends, get away with my lover, relax, party, relax, improvise. I flow.

It then occurred to me that I don’t travel in a straight line, that I don’t visit city A, then B, then C and so on. I don’t aim for a goal, hit it, then run off the next destination. It’s more organic, winding, and full of discovery. I listen.

Having been a circus artist for 15 years, I am very good at traveling. I KNOW travel. I can flow on a trip, change course at anytime, visit any place, any country, meet anyone, and have a great time. I never feel like I’ve wasted my miles.

I love maps. It makes me want to explore. Think about how you feel when you are about to go on a trip.

The way you choose your passion is the same way you choose your trip. I am moving away from anything that promises a 3, 5, or 12 step process because becoming a businessman, circus artist, web designer, or building an Ironman suit (my personal goal) isn’t about steps. Or at least, that’s the most minor of focuses.

The process is about creating a map of your desired destinations and visiting them to enjoy the experience and to gather knowledge. Fortunately, before I got into the circus, I never read a book called “30-Days to Successful Circus Acrobatics”. I never had the notion of linear, goal-orientated achievement in my head for the circus, so I simply went where I felt I needed or wanted to go.

It was simple. And it worked.

I ended up having an incredible career, full of doubtful twists and turns, but always resulting in more magical experiences, and totally fulfilling adventures.

Now, on to you.

When something is not working for you, it’s probably because you are hitting it with a purely linear approach. Stop being so energetically masculine, and ask yourself what you would do if your professional goals were like taking a trip. How would you develop your career then?

Perhaps it would include:
1. Bringing along friends or family
2. Visiting a nearby interesting spot
3. Packing a back pack and walking (ie. going much slower than usual)
4.Getting there, allowing yourself the right to decide you don’t like it, and change course.

Most people are confused with the question as to how they choose their passion, mostly because the question frames it in such a way that limits you to choose only ONE THING.

And in today’s popular, masculine-driven, goal-orientated, results-only culture, it seems like a good question.

But it’s not.

That’s like asking, where do you want to travel to, and only getting one city to visit.

It’s always been the wrong question. It’s not, how do you choose your passion (singular), but rather, how can you experience all that you are passionate for (all-inclusive)?

Happy travels.

***

My question to you is: what is one place you haven’t visited yet, either a geographical place (like Paris) or a metaphorical place (like becoming a doctor)?

My answers are: making a feature length inspirational documentary/story film and moving into a new solar-powered, energy-efficient home here in Las Vegas.

What’s yours?

Exercise Your Money Muscles

This morning, as I was doing an abs-stretching class at the gym, the instructor said something that struck me as profoundly true for exercise as well as any part of life. Every time you work a particular muscle group, you must then work the opposite muscle group. For example, if you are doing ab crunches, then you complete the series with back arches (where you lift your head and legs together).

If you are doing bicep curls, then your next set should be tricep extensions. Each muscle has an antagonistic pair, and they move in harmony – while one works, the other stretches. There is no one without the other – you wouldn’t be able to curl a dumbbell if you didn’t have those triceps on the back of your arms.

What struck me as fascinating is this lesson applies to all areas of your life. Think about how your operate your business or profession. We are generally seduced into thinking that working more, harder, and longer is always better. What is the antagonistic action of working? If you said “not working” you wouldn’t be quite right. Relaxing is not the opposite of business or professional activities – the ethics of the couch potato don’t save us here.

First, consider why you work. Almost everyone works to make money. If they work and don’t make money, either they are in the wrong profession, or it’s called volunteering. When you work, the defining line is being paid. So, the purpose is the make money or create wealth for yourself.

The opposite of making money is giving money or wealth away. Therefore the antagonistic “muscle” in business is practicing generosity. Does it hurt to give money, or donate to a cause? Does it hurt your pocketbook, ego, or make you wince, thinking how you could buy a new pair of jeans instead?

That’s an indication that your “giving muscle” is weak. What that implies is that your creating wealth muscles aren’t operating at full capacity. It takes both actions to balance each other out and create optimal functionality. You need the bicep to make the tricep work and vice versa.

There’s plenty of focus on the wealth creation mindset but little on its equal partner, the wealth giving mindset. Consider what you need to do to balance both muscles.

SuperCircusGuy’s 15-Foot Back Flip

This is a short video of a improvised kid’s show that we put on this summer at the Van Lodostov Circus Camp in Vermont. It’s significant because it’s the first time I did a back flip out of safety lines from this height after a serious concussion I had two years ago. That was “my impossible”.

Also, the striped tights were not my idea…

Alvin’s Acrofit System & Soul Acrobats Featured In Las Vegas Weekly

Reporter and writer extraordinaire Todd Witcher and photographer Bill Hughes covered an incredible story on the Acrofit System and Soul Acrobats. If you’re not sure what they are, Soul Acrobats is all about promoting FITNESS FOR YOUR SOUL, while the Acrofit System teaches your FITNESS FOR YOUR BODY. Todd did an amazing job of piecing the philosophy of body and soul together along with how the process involves getting to know fear intimately. I’ll leave it to Todd’s magnificent writing to explain the rest.

The article is featured in this week’s Las Vegas Weekly and I got a 2-PAGE spread! Here’s the link to the online article:

http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2009/may/07/leaps-faith/

Ideas From My Readers On How To Stay In The Moment

In response to my last newsletter called “Can’t Find Your Purpose? Find Out How” I received a ton of great letters back to my question: how do YOU stay present in the moment? Here are your insightful and wonderful responses.

***

Hi Alvin,

Fantastic rolling billboards!!!!

I wish I could say that I am always able to stay in the moment.  I’m not.  But I will say that when I do accomplish being in the moment, it is incredibly powerful, and as you say “purposeful”.  One way that I have accomplished it at times, is to say to myself, “No matter what else may be calling to me, I CHOOSE to focus on this one thing and put my energy on that.”  If I am fully present with that one thing then I can accomplish more than if I allow myself to be overwhelmed with all the chaos around me.

Great writing today, Alvin!

- Carolyn

***

Hey Alvin…

My name is Tamara and i work with lululemon athletica in Kelowna BC….  We met in the summer and did an amazing sacred dance class in the park.

I just want to thank you for these emails.  They always seem to arrive at about the time i need to read them.

Present in the moment…hmmmmmm.
i breathe.  slow everything down and breathe, where ever I am, and hold that one moment…and let it go. And if that doesnt’ work, I dance.  big or little, soft or funky, i move…it brings me back to my body and out of my head.

It usually works, but hey, practice makes present!

love and gratitude,
Tamara

***

I stay present knowing that in this exact moment it is precisely where I am meant to be. I can fight it, live with it, embrace it, or just be in it!  Nonetheless, it’s where I am! xox
***

Hi Alvin,
In response to your question on how to stay in the present moment amidst chaos,  I try to remember that every moment in our lives is like a sentence in the chapter- and ultimately – the book of our lives. We are experiencing a sequence of events that are connected with energy, and these events will SOMEWHAT shape the course of our lives.  I say somewhat, because the most important thing to remember is that our thoughts are the most powerful tools we have during chaotic times. With a positive outlook and a firm decision that we can gain strength and experience from the things that life throws our way, we can get through anything. So let’s remember to make the best of each day, no matter how chaotic,  because tomorrow is never guaranteed.

Right now many of us have lost our jobs, fore closed on homes, and feel a loss one way or another. I know that this too shall pass, and with faith and perseverance good things will come soon for us.   I choose to live each day with a smile on my face, and I hope you do as well!

Thank you,

Zahra

***

As I was reading your thoughts on purpose, I realized that lately I have been just BEING & being okay with that fact. Even if I catch myself thinking about events I am planning in the future, I am more at ease with allowing my heart or mind to wander in the possibilities of the future without feeling guilt for not being more present in the here & now. I think true purpose comes in a forgiving or letting go of expectations that we give ourselves so that we clear the way of our egos in order to give to others.

-Suzanne

***

I am usually very excited about whatever I am doing at that exact moment.  Focusing on the task and doing it to the best of my ability.
But I have found myself feeling guilty about NOT worrying about everything else. Such as more family time, more clients, less volunteering, more volunteering, our retirement account, savings, a neater home, turning in our car at the end of it’s lease and not replacing it, etc.

Today, I should say beginning today, I know that I am doing the right thing by living in the moment and knowing that it’s my purpose.
I lost so many family members between the age of 12 and 20.Some tragically. I always try to have a Plan A, B, C.  People ask me why are you so happy.  My response is that life is too short and you never know how long you have on this planet, so live it to the fullest today.  I take my own advice for the most part, but there is always a wee bit of guilt about not doing it alllllllllll. I’m going to try harder to ignore the “alllll feeling”.

Take care!
Kari

***

I was fortunate to have found my purpose early in my life.  I came here to love.  It’s so easy and it can be done anywhere and with anyone.  Living that purpose has taken me on some very enjoyable and joy-filled experiences and also taken me to desperate and sad connections.  But I always connect in my heart to being in this moment, with this person, in front of me is the most important purpose I have in this life.  They are what I focus on and love the moment for, being in their space and sharing a connection, however that connection manifests.  It’s what I’m meant to be, love.  It’s what most resonates in my soul, in my being-ness.  A smooth running wave.  Sometimes I hit an undertow, other times, I surf it like glass.  I wouldn’t want my life to be any different.  It has such fullness and beauty.
-Lisa

On A Billboard In Las Vegas!

Amazing Video On The Power of Knowledge

OK, so TED.com is one of my favorite websites. There is an incredible amount of data out in the world, but it’s useless without being able to create relationships between them. Watch this video and CAREFULLY note what Henri Rosling says at minute 13:00 about “moving faster when you are healthy first, rather than being wealthy first.” When you see it you’ll know what I mean.

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