New Year, New You: Stop Chasing Resolutions! Start Making the Changes You Desire!

Are you someone who makes New Year resolutions but tend not to follow through? If you answered “yes,” you certainly wouldn’t be alone! In my experience, both professionally and personally, most people rarely make changes in their behavioral patterns simply because of a specified “date.” While positive intentions motivate the aspiration, specific dates and times of the year have no real power to actually press forth a desire to change. Rather, the capacity to make changes comes from igniting an internal fire!

So rather than stating a laundry list of resolutions for the upcoming New Year, get honest with yourself today and initiate one small step toward a goal you’ve been coveting. First, do whatever it takes to get your mood modified so that you will be successful at whatever change you undertake. And then, as said by the Nike marketers, “Just Do It.” For instance, if you want to lose 5 pounds, practice a meditation daily where you visualize fat shedding from your body. Then translate that into a behavioral modification: don’t eat that extra piece of apple pie or that handful of white-chocolate-peppermint covered pretzels at your company’s holiday party. Rather, opt for the veggie platter with a small sampling of the other goodies. Or if you desire engaging in a new hobby in your spare time, like making ceramic bowls, rather than searching for the perfect class at just the right time to fit your schedule, go out and buy some Play-doh and go at it!

Most importantly, remember it is you who controls whether or not you move toward or away from your goals. While life’s circumstances can certainly make our lives harder or easier, don’t forget you are still in the driver’s seat of your life. So, choose and change at your will!