The whole “New Year, New You” thing can be a real pressure can’t it?
The motivation and excitement you may have felt about starting 2020 with goals and ideas for change often dissipate around this time!
Just a few weeks in and all that energy and power you felt about your resolutions have disappeared and you are left with the same old familiar patterns of thoughts, behaviors, habits, and emotions.
For a huge majority of people, change does not come easily. 🙅🏼
It’s all well and good to have the desire to change and set meaningful goals but implementing those changes requires a huge will to overcome your unconscious and entrenched ways of being.
I have talked before about how our brains 🧠 develop patterns of thought due to our upbringing and familiar ways of being.
Breaking out of those old patterns does not just happen because it’s January and you wrote them down on your resolution list. It requires a certain amount of effort and directed energy ⚡️ to make it happen.
The best way to beat the New Year’s resolution blues is to shift your focus from trying and striving to make something happen, to learn how to make actual lasting change.
That means integrating your goals into your life in a way that lasts — introducing daily, positive habits and routines that keep you aligned with your goals.
I think we can break down the best way to meet goals in the following ways:
Accept Where You Are Now 🤲🏽
This is an important first step as it will set you up for the right expectations. Get very clear on what you intend to change and who you are at this point in time in relation to where you want to be.
You can journal 📒 about where you are currently and where you would ideally like to go.
From a calm, confident, and connected place you will then be able to make goals that you can actually reach, goals that will bring you into alignment.
Frame Your Goals Right 🖼
The way we decide on our goals in our heads is very important. The words 🗣 you use and the way that you focus on your desires needs to be positive.
For example, if you want to stop spending so much time on social media or web surfing 💻, don’t completely keep away from them. Instead, just limit the time you spend on social media, for example, saying “spend ten minutes a day on Facebook” is much easier to handle than the phrase “no more Facebook ever.”
You can apply that to nearly anything. Positively-phrased resolutions that focus on achieving something are much more beneficial.
Start Small and Practice Regularly 🏁
This is essential when making goals that will stick. Do not make huge grandiose plans for change that you cannot realistically achieve.
Choose small, sustainable, and realistic goals that you can see visible proof of working towards each day. Practicing regularly and consistently is also imperative.
So, for example, if one of your goals is to get better at something, carve out just ten minutes ⏰ a day to do that activity.
If your goal is to be happier, make that more specific.
Decide to do one thing each day that makes you happy, or repeat one positive affirmation a day that lifts your spirits.
Measure Progress 📏
Take time to celebrate 🥳 the small victories as you go along. Breaking down your progress regularly, say weekly or even daily can help you feel motivated and inspired to continue on.
Start by making a list 📝 of your priorities and scheduling your time effectively. That means making appointments in your calendar 🗓 to make sure you are reaching your goals, even if it’s practicing yoga 🧘 or making a healthy smoothie.
Treat your goals and your life like the precious things they are and find satisfaction in highlighting your achievements.
Share Your Goals 💕
Making yourself accountable for your new resolutions is a good idea because you are more likely to stick to them when they are made public. That takes courage!
You can let your friends or family know what you plan to do and even check in with them with updates of your progress.
You could even write a letter to yourself with a list of your intentions and send it to yourself. Pin📌 it up where you can see it. This is a huge motivator and will boost your self-discipline.
Appreciate What’s Already Accomplished 😌
Motivate yourself towards making changes by appreciating what you already have and have accomplished. A sense of gratitude for things in your life, people, experiences, jobs and material things as well as emotional experiences and the ways in which you have grown.
When you take that extra effort to appreciate your life, you foster and create confidence and faith in your abilities, excellent qualities in helping you to stick at new things as you continue your journey.
Be Resilient 💪🏻
Finally, be patient and loving with yourself as you tackle your goals and instil change into your life. Allow yourself to skip a day of exercise 🏋🏻♀️ if need be without berating yourself.
These are temporary setbacks and you can remind yourself of what you have achieved, knowing you can carry on the next day.
Small failures do not need to overwhelm your larger intentions. Being successful comes from feeling empowered and committed to your life, whatever it looks like in the moment.
Do Regular Meditation 🧘🏼♀️
I think this is the most important of all the steps in creating lasting change. Whether you choose to visualize during meditation, meditate in silence or practice any type of sound healing or chanting – all meditation is about connecting with your true self, source.
When you do this you are creating a bond between yourself and the universe. You create an understanding of who you are at a profound level which makes it much harder to be self-judgemental or critical of your progress. Instead, you experience self-love and patience.
Remember that joy really is in the journey. It’s not about reaching some mythical end place, it’s about relishing every moment along the way. There isn’t really any such thing as tomorrow for when it arrives it is the present, today. If you can really embrace this concept, you will understand that changing your life is about appreciating your life. Positivity and sticking to goals is about small changes, tiny steps and consistency.
