“I’m going to lose weight.”

“I’m going to stop procrastinating.”
“I’m going to quit smoking.”
“I am going to get my business going”
“I am going to get out of debt”

How often do we make New Year Resolutions that only set us up to feel badly about ourselves for the rest of the year?

After only a few weeks (often sooner) we are thrown into the territory of the “yes but” and the , “if only”.

We begin negotiating, and then we become separated from ourselves and our true desires.

All of this is a symptom of trying to think our way through it, and then we cannot experience the reality of our accomplishments.

When we feel our way through it, we are connected with ourselves and we feel calm and confident in order to learn.

Is there a way to make resolutions that are healthy for us and make us happy; resolutions that we enjoy keeping?

How do we make the change and keep the change?

1. Remember a time when you didn’t think you would make it through something and you did. At some point in the process you used your imagination and aligned your behavior to match your intention, giving you new results.
2. Close your eyes and let a positive change come to you that is in alignment with your life style. At first it may come to you as something you don’t want. Turn it around so that it is a positive statement of desire. (For instance, instead of saying “I don’t want to be in debt anymore.” Say, “I want to be financially free and stable.”) Focus on what you do want.  Be honest and authentic. If the desire to change comes from deep inside of us as a true desire, we can imagine ourselves feeling this new way (calm, confident, capable, etc.) and see ourselves in the process of taking the steps, day by day, to achieve what we want.
3. During this process, we must celebrate even the slightest movement. As we have small successes it is important to share them with a friend who inspires, encourages and believes in us.
4. Our systems need to stay on course to get where we want to go.
   Without recalculating, (like a gps does) we will only get more of what we don’t want. If you get off track, use the following exercise to “reset” to a new, better feeling:
   Take A slow, deep breath.
   Experience (imagine/remember) the feeling of being on track and moving forward.
   Take a moment to allow that feeling to come fully into your body.
   Breathe into it.
   Reset to that feeling.
   Remember, you are unhooking from the past “I can’t” and resetting your system to “I can”.

Finally, “Be who you are”, not “Who you think you should be”, and enjoy your growth and movement, now and throughout the new year!

Check back often for more tips and suggestions for making solid choices, changes, and movement in your life.

Happy New Year

Love & Light

Jo

Tags: Changes | Healing | Lifestyle | Mental Health | New Year's Resolutions | Self-Help