By Kris Carr on December 30, 2011

2011: The Highs, Lows & What I’ve Got Planned for 2012

Change. It’s the most popular topic on the Internet this week. Some folks love resolutions; some rally against them. Some call them intentions, rituals, goals or promises. I tend to call them resolutions ‘cause I like metrics and sweeping. When you sweep you can see your accomplishment instantly.

I generally reflect on my year (the good, bad, ugly and grace-filled) throughout the month of December; then I write my resolutions and tuck them away to review the following New Year’s Eve. Of course, I loved reading your resolutions on Facebook and twitter this week. Thanks for sharing!

Some years I post my resolutions on my vision board to inspire me to stay on track. Perhaps I’ll break them into categories like health, biz, art and mental clean-up. If I’m in a Virgo-esque (anal) phase, I’ll assign a resolution to each month. For example, January: Forgive that relative who hurt you to the bone. February: Clean the attic. March: Heal cellulite. April: Solve the exploding chronic disease crisis. May: Get comprehensive blood work done and for God’s sake, take your supplements. June: Know God. July: Learn Spanish. And so on.

Let’s just say that allotting a timeline to change has never worked for me. Scheduled growth mostly ends in failure and scotch. Why? Because I’m an artist at my core. I struggle, snuggle, protest, pound fists, open arms, break, yell, hide and fly. That’s how I expand. How do you wrangle that!? You don’t.

So as I sit and ponder 2012, I’ll share my 2011 with you: what worked, what didn’t and my hopes for 2012. But before I do, here are my personal tips for transformative follow-through.

Take inventory. Get a clear picture of where I am before planning where I’m going.

Review my bandwidth. How much room do I have in 2012? Don’t pack my life with goals ‘til I’m emotionally constipated and physically exhausted. Sure I want to stretch my wings and land on the moon in heels. But I want to do it without casualties and consequences.

What’s the emotional thread I want to experience in 2012? What feeling do I want to permeate through the pores of the New Year? Compassion? Unconditional love? The shift is the honey.

Be specific. “I want to save the world” won’t cut it. What are the activities that will help me make the world a better place? Hint to all interested in that one: GO VEG!

What’s non-negotiable? What feelings or activities must change or I’ll lose my mind? And how can I hold myself accountable? Writing this blog post is a great start! Putting it out there makes it real. When we keep our goals private it’s easy to conk out.

Make time for the magic hour muse. I’m always surprised by how much I accomplish personally and professionally when I give myself time to star gaze. Time to stroll and play without structure. Ideas come. Revelations reveal themselves. Ah ha’s take my breath away. Mindlessly flipping through Vanity Fair by the fire can ignite a revolution. You never know where the muse lives. That’s why it’s a muse. Make space for it.

2011 Review (and a lot of gratitude)

• I turned 40 (and got glasses!)
• “Crazy Sexy Diet” hit the New York Times Bestseller list! (Thank you, dear readers!)
• Bought a beat-up old farm (my dream).
• Started renovating the beat up old farm (total chaos and dust!)
• Business housekeeping: Hired, fired, dealt with the bones of the Crazy Sexy biz (painful, scary, responsible).
• Found a new home for my writing (AKA – a new publisher).
• OWN aired my film a few times (thank you Oprah!)
• Had oceans of fun shooting The Gayle King Show and The Revolution.
• Learned to deal with public criticism better (though it still sucks).
• Said “no” more.
• Omega-a-go-go: Adored teaching at the Living with Cancer weekend & was blown away by the Crazy Sexy Self-Care workshop with my co-pilots Nick Ortner & Elena Brower.
• Beautiful new friends came into my life (Tara Stiles: You’re one of them.)
• Had two majestic soul coven weekends with my trusted unicorns, Marie & Danielle.
• Started a mastermind/visionary group of 15+ Crazy Sexy Women who support and nurture the fire and brilliance in each other (truly juicy & quenching!)
• Great CT scans! Graduated to every 1.5 years (my beauty marks are behaving quite nicely – thank you beauty marks! I have too much work and life and love to do for y’all to get in the way. Appreciate you keeping it real.)
• Dealt with other (non-cancer/non-baby) health issues. Ahhh, more lessons. Raged at first. Now I’m finding the gems.
• Worked on ancient resentment and allowed myself to miss someone I vowed not to miss.
• Fell deeper for my husband & dog.
• Fell in and out of love with P90x and would like to rekindle the flame in 2012.
• Made yoga my church.
• Started writing again …

2012 (Here I come!) …

• London. I must visit you.
• Find a new spiritual teacher (I need to deepen the well.)
• Spend more time with my family.
• Skype with my sister more.
• Sex rocks. Have more of it.
• Forgive a layer deeper. And then deeper than that (even if I don’t want to).
• Stop saying sorry so much (I’m not sorry; I’m just uncomfortable.)
• To preggers or not to preggers? Decide. (Good grief!)
• Tap more (EFT) with Nick Ortner (my brother from another mother who loves me no matter how sticky my personal gunk gets). He helps me clean up old, stale emotional garbage like no other.
• Go to the theater.
• See art. Make art. Use my new camera (thank you, Santa husband!)
• Rescue more horses.
• Hire more peeps to help me run CSL.
• Be a better manager.
• Deliver a phenomenal cookbook (Crazy Sexy Kitchen is coming in October 2012!) and help that baby soar!
• Launch a few online goodies for y’all :)

OK. That’s good. Did I overcommit? Only time will tell. And as for the overall feeling I want to experience in 2012: that whatever I do is enough. I want to cruise through the year on a continual exhale. No matter what it brings or how life changes.

How about you? Chat with me on Facebook and twitter and right here in the comments. Share one of your resolutions (intentions, goals etc) for 2012. I’d love to know.

Wishing you loads of love & magical adventures in 2012 – Happy New Year!

Peace & New Beginnings,

KC

 

Photo credit: K. Hurley

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By Kris Carr on December 31, 2009

New Year’s Resolutions: 10 for ’10

Holy Glitter – we made it through another decade! For me, it was the decade of diagnosis, rock bottom, a creative explosion, empowerment, marriage, the loss of cherished family members, the addition of Lola (the best rescue dog ever!), physical and emotional healing and a loving Crazy Sexy global community. So many lessons learned, so much gratitude felt. And yet I’m just getting started! That’s a fantastic and spooky feeling. Can you be a grown up while still growing up? I sure hope so.

With oodles of thoughts swirling through my head, it’s a perfect time to scribble some resolutions: 10 for 10 – I hope you join me. Yearly goals help set our inner coordinates so that we can sail into the warm sunshine.

Take some time and reflect on where you are, where you’re going and where you missed the mark in the past. Then grab a pen (and a bikini) and swan dive in.

Here goes…1-2-3…SPLASH!

1. Take a yearly honeymoon and do not talk about work.

2. Take a yearly trip with friends (no spouses allowed).

3. Meditate for 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening. If it’s good enough for the Beatles, it’s good enough for me!

4. Take guitar lessons and sing Neil Young songs.

5. Exercise please. The ass won’t take care of itself.

6. Therapy please. The head won’t take care of itself.

7. Watch more good films and less bad TV.

8. Start a manifestation posse, share secrets dreams and be held accountable.

9. Take a break from nutrition books and read delicious literature

10. Listen more; talk less and forgive, forgive, let go, forgive.

…Bonus resolution: Toss fear and smile. Money, health, career, love – they’re all there for the taking, but only if my hands are wide open. Fists suck!

There, that seems pretty doable. I often shoot too high and then splat. Can you really be an astronaut, the best chef ever, save every animal and solve global warming in 12 months? Oh, and have Madonna arms too? Maybe if I’m more realistic I’ll find a deeper happiness in the simple things. If I have extra energy, I’ll win an Emmy. If not: Fuck it.

Hmmm, I like this list a lot. In fact, I’m gonna keep it handy and check in with you from time to time. Buddies certainly help keep things on track.

One last thought before I close up shop for ‘09…

Go for it – don’t wait or procrastinate! And above all, don’t tofu chicken out! Life is moving at a fast clip…are you living it? Am I? Some of my nooks and crannies are still very junked up with stuff that holds me back. If you feel the same way then let’s do a little spring cleaning in January. That’s right, grab some Mrs. Meyer’s lavender scrub and get crazy sexy busy! I’ll bring the rags, you bring the tissues, the universe will bring the freedom.

Many blessings for an abundant and healthy New Year!
Kris

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