12 in 12

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I’m making 2012 my year to do 12 things that, no matter the outcome, I will look back on the year proud of myself for having achieved them. So many times I have gotten to the end of a year only to rag on myself for what I didn’t do or achieve, instead of giving myself credit for the good work I did do. Then I’d make new resolutions or goals for the new year that would eventually be forgotten, and repeat the cycle all over again.


2011 has been a year of a lot of reflection and personal change for me. Two things that have always been very difficult for me, but I have been working on like crazy are patience and practice. Patience & practice come into play with everything all the time, but I’m committed to doing the work, even when it gets really hard. So, for the new year I’ve decided to do something I’m calling 12 in 12. 12 commitments, 12 months in 2012.


12 in 12 – Here’s how it works:


Pick one thing to do consistently every day for a month (see below for suggestions.) It can be something new you want to try, something you want to get better at or something you want to see if you can live without. Commit to doing this thing every day for that month no matter what, even when you don’t want to, even when it hurts, even when it sucks. The practice is the reward. Once the month is up, you’ll start your next thing. You may or may not want to continue the previous month’s practice longer if it’s working for you, however, you still need to introduce something new for the new month.


Example: January I do 25 pushups every morning when I wake up. January 31st I decide that I want to continue doing pushups every morning. February 1st I begin a month of no coffee, while still doing my pushups every morning. Feb 29th (29 days in ’12), I decide that I want to go back to coffee, but still continue the pushups. March 1 I begin a month of meditating everyday, and still continue the pushups. March 31st I decide I want to continue the meditating, and on April 1st will begin one month of no TV. So now I’m still meditating, doing pushups, and trying no TV…Repeat until Dec. 31st.


I’ll be posting my monthly commitments from month to month, for January I will be doing 31 days of yoga. I’d LOVE for you to join me for 12 in 12, and I can’t wait to hear what monthly commitments you come up with. The possibilities are endless!

Remember: no one has a problem with the first mile of a journey. Even an infant could do fine for a while. But it isn’t the start that matters. It’s the finish line. – Julien Smith, The Flinch

Need some ideas on what to do daily for an entire month? Try one of these!

*Any physical fitness activity (pushups, running, yoga, pilates, weight training, boxing, crossfit, walking, biking…) It can be the same one for the month, or a mix.

*Read everyday for a specific length of time (15min, 30min, 1hr…)

*Give up something (TV, sugar, complaining, alcohol, the elevator, twitter/facebook, coffee, texting, Starbucks/Dunkins, eating out…)

*Volunteer

*Write (Keep a journal, start a blog, hand write letters)

*Say hello/compliment a stranger

*Wake up 30-60min earlier

*Take one photo a day

*Meditate (if only for 5min/day and work your way up)

*Try one new food a day

*Learn one new word a day (or five!)

*Unplug by 7pm

*Cook all of your meals

*Look in the mirror and say “You are perfect. You matter. You can do achieve anything. I love you”

*Check your email only at set times of day

*Take public transportation

*Try a different eating philosophy (Vegan, Raw vegan, Paleo, Mediterranean, Vegetarian)

*Do cartwheels and handstands

By the way, Subscribe to my FREE newsletter, and we’ll all stay in touch with each other about how we’re doing with the #12in12 . People do better with group reinforcement!