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THE NEW YEAR is here and it’s a bit like Marmite. Some people love it and some people hate it.
The bells rang out loudly and the fireworks dazzled – but some people are lonely this time of year, while others are ecstatic.
But there is one thing that is good about New Year – it is an opportunity for change. Here is how you can get started:
1. Get specific
Positive change starts from within, so ask yourself “What do I want to change?” If you ask your brain a direct question, it will often come up with the answer.
The problem most people face is that they use the wrong language inside their head, for example “I don’t know what I want”. So get specific with your language and say “I want…(fill in the gap).”
2. Goal setting
Goals are just ideas unless they are written down. And if you lose the idea, it’s like losing a very important document. It’s painful. Research has shown that writing out your goals gives you a greater chance of success than just leaving your goals unwritten.
3. Ask yourself what do you want
Tolstoy once said, “Wveryone wants to change the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves”. Isn’t it time to make positive changes for you? Get specific by asking yourself some of these questions over Christmas:
4. Planning change
It only happens if you plan it. Begin to think about how you can make positive changes in your life now. Imagine feeling proud of yourself. You deserve it. If you make the changes you want, you will be happier within yourself and begin to believe in yourself more. It will start a snowball effect.
5. I know what I want, now what?
So now you have an idea of what you want to change, what happens next? The truth is that most people don’t know how to set goals. The basic format for goal setting is as follows:
6. Visualisation
Visualise your goal as if you have already achieved it. If you think you can’t visualise, here is an exercise to prove you can:
If you have got this far, you can visualise. So why not imagine yourself achieving your goal?
Obviously you have to put in the work as well. It’s not just sitting at home saying ‘Well that’s great, I did the visualisation thing.’ Goals require action too. As Einstein said, imagination is more important than knowledge. When you access your imagination through visualisation, you access your subconscious mind.
The subconscious mind is far more powerful than your conscious mind. It files every thought and every memory you have ever had. It is like a vast filing cabinet that stores your everyday thoughts and actions. It works on repetition. So set aside time daily to imagine your goal being achieved. Make a movie in your head. Throw in a bit of sound. Make the movie nice and bright and lively.
7. Changing behaviour
If there is something you want to change in your behaviour, tackle it head on. Get help if you need it. Stop making excuses and start making your life more tolerable.
8. Change is inevitable
Sometimes change can be painful. Often when we don’t change what we really want to, that causes much more anxiety. The only thing certain in life is change.
We have come through 2012. Take the time to consider carefully where you want to be and what you want to be doing this time next year. What achievements do you want to have realised? By making positive daily changes, you can succeed and you will be happier, healthier and begin to live the life you truly want.
Margaret Mara is a qualified clinical hypnotherapist, psychotherapist and a personal and business coach. She delivers seminars and workshops on many different aspects of personal development. For more information you can email info@margaretmara.ie.
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Locals not angry at the locals who did this, but blame the government instead for using the wrong sort of paint.
Classic.
@alphanautica: how are they supposed to do that? Guard the bridge?? There are already laws against this but no Gardai to patrol and look out for this. Using anti-graffiti paint even on the interior of the bridge should have been considered it looks awful.
@Deborah Behan: weird concept I know, in this day and age, but some of the artists involved would have parents living in the local community who might exercise some influence over their charges.
@alphanautica: I thought that too. However, the only quote in the article from a local is one condemning the others for the graffiti.
@alphanautica: yeah, those FG swines keeping all that anti graffiti paint for their rich pals on the south side of dublin. Only the cheap B&Q stuff for us northsiders!
@alphanautica: good point, except that the graffiti writers are not local
@Rip Van Winkle: and how do you know that ?
@Rip Van Winkle: you cannot say that for a fact that it wasn’t local ..
@alphanautica: Graffiti is not restricted to “bad” parenting , these so called artist do this for attention , if there efforts are painted over immediately and this can be done by volunteers , these kids will stop using this bridge for their vandalism
So the community is angray that the taxpayer didnt pay extra fo prevent the community from destroying it’s stuff.
@Neal Ireland Hello.: How do you know it wasn’t vandals from other part of town / country ?
@Neal Ireland Hello.: the kind of tags there aren’t locals. Spray paint isn’t cheap. Ussually kids from nicer areas you roll in. Put a few crap tags down and skate or cycle off.
I’am sure most cyclists would be relieved to cross the bridge without being beaten, stabbed, and mugged by the natives rather then complaining about the paintwork.
@Dave Hogan: Cyclists don’t use it….. While it’s a great idea it’s an inconvenience to the “morning commute” cyclist.
@Ian Breathnach: where’s your evidence that cyclists don’t use it?
@Dermot Lane: they’re too busy clogging up roads the length and breadth of the country and not pulling the f@ck over!!!! Look at them in their skin tight leotards with the crack of their fat arses shown to the world!!! Get out of my way fatty!
@David: Ranty McRant head… here’s a chill pill, go take it!
@Dub_Right: found a cyclist
@Dave Hogan: That is a disgraceful comment
@David: Main reason no body uses it is there is no way to get on to it. They haven’t connected it to a cycle lane. To use it you need to take a left and then a right off the main road. It then leads to another road that you take a right to take back on to the main road you came off.
It is decidedly inconvenient
What’s the story with the littering there too!!!!!
Visited Japan last year. would never see vandalism or littering there. too much pride in their country. pity it’s lost here
@James O Donoghue: Japan is very nice country indeed but people there are simple nutters and I would never swap life here and there to be honest.
@James O Donoghue: wait till Luas is joined every gemhead and scanger invading the rest of Dublin sterilisation for the lot of them I say !!!!
The standard of graffiti in this area is shockingly poor. If anything this highlights the need for a larger spend on Art in our school system
@Zx5vZulB: they’d have to go to school to get any use from it..
Surely they should be angry at the people who have so little regard for new things that they ruin them for everyone by vandalising them…
@Jennie Conneely: father no good mother no good how could you expect the child to be any good!!!
I worked with a roads authority and anti-graffiti paint is not worth a ball of blue.. Useless.. when graffiti is painted on it a special chemical has to be used to get the graffiti off.. its as much hassle and as expensive as if anti-graffiti paint hadn’t be used..
That yoke needs a bit of colour. Pity the vandals weren’t a bit more arty.
@Missyb211: or, commission an up and coming artist
It’s their own Gurriors , oops – sweet children who are doing this – bless them , because they know not what they do !
If you brought up your children correctly with respect for others property and a civic spirit this would not be happening !
@Mike Howard: Hey would you like a bigger brush to tar everyone in that area with?
@Mike Howard: you haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about. I lived in the area for 7 years I assure you the local heads aren’t into the graffiti scene. It’s predominantly kids from middle class backgrounds who go out and tag/bomb all along the rail lines. The locals suffer the graffiti and your ignorance
Catch them doing it, make them repaint the bridge and bill them the cost of materials.
I was scrolling down, just awaiting to see a pic of an evoke tag and look! what a surprise.
The city centre is ruined with that word everywhere.
Serious fines and possible judicial sentences need to start being given out to discourage kids from doing this, it’s rampant at this stage.
Excuse me for not being surprised? And when McDonald’s in Rathmines decided to redecorate several years ago, what wallpaper did they choose? Something that looks like the graffitied buildings in Chicago!
They should also ask questions about which of their neighbors are throwing bags of rubbish on the bridge.
Should just pay the cost of anti graffiti paint to street artist to paint the bridge. Some idiot was bound to doggie they might be less likely if it was already painted with street art representing the area.
You can be guaranteed that if this was in Malahide, Howth, Foxrock, Mount Merrion that this bridge would be free of these paint scrawls(hardly graffiti) and no rubbish would be left there just like that…
The Bridge is horrible looking anyways and won’t be used!
@Dub_Right: ha I’ve live in Howth. Everything gets graffitied at some point here. EVERYTHING!.
The only difference here is that the council clean it off pretty fast compared to “other” areas(Read: less well off areas)
Dosco scrubbing brush and bottles of Cif handed out to the locals ?
Not only bad graffiti but dumping rubbish bags as well Sh!€hole
The bridge does still work.
Surprisingly I don’t see any used syringes lying around in the photo
have your say