The start of a new year is often associated with a desire to change at least one aspect of yourself, a desire to turn over a new leaf, which leads to “New Year’s Resolutions”. While the arrival of a new year sparks optimism and hope for change, it will not magically provide the catalyst, motivation and persistence needed to reinvent oneself. It is important to remember that the New Year is not meant to serve as a facilitator for widespread character changes. Instead, it should be a time for people to reflect on the past year to identify positive changes they want to incorporate into their everyday lives.
By making your resolutions realistic and attainable, you have a greater chance that you will keep them throughout the year to come. Here are some tips to help you set and achieve resolutions that best align with your life, aspirations, dreams and values.
The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.
– Melody Beattie
LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE
On a very fundamental level, every day you invest your resources (time, energy, focus, money, etc.) into a number of specific areas like health, movement, emotions, career, relationships, finances, fun, spirituality…just to name a few. When added up, these areas make up who you are, and allow you to identify how you spend your time and energy. Once you have identified these specific areas in your life, it is time to take a closer look. Each area of your life can be defined, and broken down into parts. For example, health may include nutrition/eating, sleep, medical, dental, stress and self-care. As you expand on each area of your life, it will help you better identify what resolutions you want to make because it will help identify those areas where you need to change the most.
SET REALISTIC AND ATTAINABLE GOALS
Saying you want to “lose weight” or “save more money” are more like wishes than actual concrete goals. In order to give your goals life and make them real you must create specifics and details. For instance, if your goal is to lose weight, think about what is needed to make that happen. This helps you breakdown your goal into attainable increments. So, let’s say that you’ve decided to accomplish this goal by eating better, incorporating more movement/exercise and getting better sleep. Think about the details for each segment of your overall goal, and make actions steps. If you wanted to start eating better you could start with a goal of eating at least 3 servings of vegetables a day. For each of these action steps, you will need a plan of action so you can create and integrate the correlating tangible steps that make achieving your goal real.
The beginning is the most important part of the work
– Plato
ATTACH YOUR VALUES
Defining your core values will assist you in aligning your goals with what is really important to you, which taps into a greater source of motivation and attaches your resolution(s) as deeply as possible. When you make resolutions that are in line with what you genuinely value, you have a much greater chance of success. It goes without saying that some days will be easier than others, but your values remain consistent regardless.
SHOW YOURSELF GRACE
Perfection is not only unrealistic, but it is also unattainable. Remember that any missteps while working towards your goals are understandable, and acceptable. Everyone has ups and downs. So, choose to show yourself grace and understanding, move forward, and get back on track. The vast majority of your life is in the little things…the every day, and the small the moments. The “big things” go by quickly and ultimately make up a small percentage of your life, so celebrate each and every small step and achievement. Be proud of who you are, your work and who you are striving to be!
ASK FOR SUPPORT
Reaching out for help strengthens your resilience, and your ability to succeed. We, here at Summit Hypnosis & Wellness, are uniquely trained to understand the workings of the subconscious mind, the framework of habits, as well as the connection between the mind and body. We can help you create strategies for change, reduce stress or overwhelming emotions, eliminate any negative behaviors, habits, doubts and/or fears, and produce a new framework for healthy habits; ultimately, achieving your resolutions effectively and permanently!
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.
– Abraham Lincoln
About Larissa Brazier, CH, NLP, Certified Holistic Health Coach
Larissa Brazier graduated from The Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Sciences. She is a Institute of Integrative Nutrition Certified Health Coach, National Guild of Hypnotists Certified Consulting Hypnotist, 5-PATH® Certified Hypnotist, & 7th Path Self-Hypnosis® Certified Teacher.
Her other certifications include Sports Performance and Nuero-Linguisitc Programming. Larissa has studied under some of the most influential, modern day nutrition experts & hypnotists in the United States such as Josua Roesnthal, creator of IIN, Dr. David Perlmutter, Dr. Andrew Weil, Cal Banyan, Founder of 5-PATH®, Banyan Hypnosis Center located in Tustin, California, Gerald Kein, founder of the Omni Hypnosis Center, and Dr. William Horton, founder of the National Federation of Neurolinguistic Psychology. Amongst many others.
Find Larissa here at Summit Hypnosis & Wellness
