Article January 7, 2008 Issue

Change for the better

BY JIM BAKER

TRADITIONALLY , this is the season when people take a serious look at their lives and vow to improve them. Resolutions for the New Year may include the goal to reduce some weight, excercise more regularly, save more money, keep in touch with family members or friends, or advance spiritually.

But I've found it's far easier to want change than to make a change. For me, good intentions can fade quickly if I don't make the connection that a mental commitment has to occur before change actually happens.

It's been estimated that the average person has about 60,000 ideas a day. But 95 percent of these ideas are the same ones we had the day before. And most of these ideas are about things that have happened in the past. But the past, as I see it, is a personal dream narrative often filled with timeworn ideas and memories that keep people from experiencing the fullness of the present.