I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, mainly because by mid-February most resolutions are long forgotten and revert back to the habits of our old comfort zone.
One of the reasons New Year’s resolutions are lame is because they suggest that the opportunity for change only comes ‘round once a year. Therefore if you fall off the wagon, you might be tempted to wait until next January to try again.
Another reason New Years resolutions fail is because they lack a solid energetic foundation. In other words a person’s energy (which is primarily based on habitual thoughts and emotions) is not a vibrational match to the goal they want to achieve, making it impossible to attract. When your energy is out of alignment in this way, the path towards any goal is an uphill battle. You’re destined to give up because on an intuitive level, you know you’ll never “get there”.
Ironically it’s a lot like running on a treadmill. A lot of external action and energy is expended, but you don’t get anywhere.
Take for example the classic New Year’s resolution of losing weight. You want a leaner body, so once January rolls around you reduce your food intake and join a gym. But you completely overlook the inner issues that caused a state of disharmony in your body in the first place – low-energy thoughts of criticism, self-hate, or doubt.
There are two possible outcomes to this scenario, and neither one are pleasant. Either you will exasperate yourself quickly and give up, or you’ll struggle against the current until you’ve lost weight. What you don’t realize is that even after you reach your goal weight, the thoughts of self-criticism will still be there, so you won’t be happier. The source of the unhappiness was never your body; it was the negative thoughts about your body. Excess weight was only a symptom of the real problem.
I use this as an example because many people are so busy trying to resolve symptoms that they never get a glimpse of the real problem. They give all their power away by trying to make changes in the external world while completely disregarding the source of their unwanted habits – the internal world.
If you want to change your body, first change your thoughts and feelings about your body. How would it feel to be at your goal weight? What thoughts would you think about yourself and your body if you were already there? Dwell on these thoughts and feelings and notice your power to be happy now.
Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, I vote we make New Year’s revolutions. “Revolution” comes from the Latin word revolutio – “a turn around”. It suggests a fundamental change in power that occurs in a relatively short period of time. An inner revolution can happen at any time when you start directing your energy, focus, and attention on what’s happening inside rather than outside. The inner world is your seat of power.
Your other point of power is the present moment. Change can only ever happen now; not tomorrow, not next week, and not next January. Putting change off until tomorrow is just another way of procrastinating. If you want inner peace, you have two choices: either accept things as they are, or make a change. But pick one and do it now.
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