Belatedly, I wish you a happy New Year. I hope your resolutions are still in place and Santa was good to you. I certainly put in a good word for you because I went up to see him. Or at least hang about in his neighbourhood.
In the week before Christmas, Lou and I drove deep into the Arctic Circle. It was a trip not lacking in drama.
En route, we crashed our hire car, rolled a snowmobile on a frozen lake, braved the threat of bears, endured temperatures of -20c and had the best cup of coffee of our lives.
The final challenge was how actually to get north into the Arctic Circle. The organised trip was cancelled, and no public transport goes that way - and I was about to find out why. There is an Arctic route of 250 miles on frozen roads, some of which are actually across frozen lakes. If you take that route in summer you'll get very wet indeed.
How satnav works in Finland I'll never know. In winter it's road information and in summer it's the shipping forecast. Here, in midwinter, was where our own New Year resolution came to play. Our resolve and attitude got us through those frozen lands and we even managed to have a fantastic time! The challenges actually added to the trip.
Success does not come by setting New Year resolutions and then expecting it to be all plain sailing. Life happens so you have to push developments in your direction.
The noun 'resolution' can mean a couple of things but the meaning that will spring first to mind is defined by the dictionary as a firm decision to do or not to do something. However, think of TV screens and computers. It can also mean the degree of detail visible in a photographic or television image. So, literally, a new year resolution can be understood as staying determined in character and action by seeing things clearly.
All you have to do is focus clearly on the right issues for you. Perhaps the issue is coffee. You, like me, have probably developed a sophisticated appreciation of coffee. "I'll have an extra hot, half-fat latte, with a shot and vanilla". I've even heard people getting irate if just one ingredient is missing. Is this really important?
In Finland, based in a wooden hut at -20c, we chopped wood, lit a fire and in an old tin kettle, and made the best cup of coffee ever.
The lesson is a simple one. Focus on the really important goals and stay resolute. The only real purpose of a goal is to inspire you to fall more deeply in love with your life. The present under your tree may be bigger than you ever imagined, but only if you determine to carry out that resolution clearly.
Ali Campbell is a life coach and NLP master
In the week before Christmas, Lou and I drove deep into the Arctic Circle. It was a trip not lacking in drama.
En route, we crashed our hire car, rolled a snowmobile on a frozen lake, braved the threat of bears, endured temperatures of -20c and had the best cup of coffee of our lives.
The final challenge was how actually to get north into the Arctic Circle. The organised trip was cancelled, and no public transport goes that way - and I was about to find out why. There is an Arctic route of 250 miles on frozen roads, some of which are actually across frozen lakes. If you take that route in summer you'll get very wet indeed.
How satnav works in Finland I'll never know. In winter it's road information and in summer it's the shipping forecast. Here, in midwinter, was where our own New Year resolution came to play. Our resolve and attitude got us through those frozen lands and we even managed to have a fantastic time! The challenges actually added to the trip.
Success does not come by setting New Year resolutions and then expecting it to be all plain sailing. Life happens so you have to push developments in your direction.
The noun 'resolution' can mean a couple of things but the meaning that will spring first to mind is defined by the dictionary as a firm decision to do or not to do something. However, think of TV screens and computers. It can also mean the degree of detail visible in a photographic or television image. So, literally, a new year resolution can be understood as staying determined in character and action by seeing things clearly.
All you have to do is focus clearly on the right issues for you. Perhaps the issue is coffee. You, like me, have probably developed a sophisticated appreciation of coffee. "I'll have an extra hot, half-fat latte, with a shot and vanilla". I've even heard people getting irate if just one ingredient is missing. Is this really important?
In Finland, based in a wooden hut at -20c, we chopped wood, lit a fire and in an old tin kettle, and made the best cup of coffee ever.
The lesson is a simple one. Focus on the really important goals and stay resolute. The only real purpose of a goal is to inspire you to fall more deeply in love with your life. The present under your tree may be bigger than you ever imagined, but only if you determine to carry out that resolution clearly.
Ali Campbell is a life coach and NLP master
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