Resolution Time

"I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we're living now."                                    - The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

I love the message in that quote from The Alchemist, a book I fiiiiinally got around to reading when I was at home (after a very long stint on my "to read" list!)

And that quote, right there, is my New Year's resolution for 2013.

I've realized that so very many of my "issues" stem from living too much in the past or in the future.

Discontent with friends or family? Well that's living in the past. Things happened that weren't ideal or that plain ol' SUCKED. True. But, I need to stop griping about what was and focus on what is. I can't change yesterday, so what can I do to make today as positive as possible?

Money stress? That's living too far in the future. It's fantastic to plan and to be responsible, but it's very easy to get trapped in negativity of your own making by worrying too much about what is too come.

Should I have eaten cake and the entire large burrito from Blockheads this evening? PAST. And will I have to go to work tomorrow after what feels like weeks of being out of the office? FUTURE. Worthless to fixate on.

That burrito kind of is staying with me in the present though. So I guess that's a gray area.

Right now I am listening to the 10th Anniversary Les Mis soundtrack (seriously, check this out, this is a link to the full concert!). And I am blogging to you fine folks. And I am going to be asleep by 10 pm. And I am happy with all of these things. Right now. Real time. Burrito belly and all.

2013, to you I resolve to stop regretting the past and to stop worrying about the future. Today I live in the today.

And I resolve to do so with my running as well. Yeah, so I didn't run the NYC Marathon. [Cough, cough, twice.] Whatever! It's in the past, girl, move on!

And, yeah, I'm a little worried (to under-state slightly...) about Miami because of my last two weeks of horrid long runs. But that's the future, and I've done what I can do and what will be will be.

Today, I live in the today.

I'm going to focus as much as I can on -- for instance -- seeing my runs not as preparation for a race in the future but as a run I am enjoying now, in the moment. The goal can simply be to run for the day. To feel strong, good, healthy, accomplished in the now. 

Improving upon the past and striving for future goals is important and it's wonderful and it's grand. And I absolutely won't stop doing that. But it's the now that I really want -- and that I really will -- start to enjoy more. To be present.

So, what's YOUR 2013 Resolution?