New Year, same old me - why???

ONLY THE CALENDAR HAS CHANGED BUT YOUR THINKING HAS STAYED THE SAME!

Resolutions are short-term goals based on the festive BS tradition of New Years Celebrations...

Houston he's getting cancelled!

I have my personal beliefs about Christmas and this time of year so I'll try to stay off them and focus on the main reasons of why we seem to fail every New Year - OK, seat belts on and open that window because the truth is hotter than you think...

Firstly, resolutions are the repeating of a solution to ones problems which you have tried and failed at previously therefore, coming from a place of lack.

If you immediately look at a resolution as a goal you will achieve because it's important to your mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, professional or personal health, then it shifts from a repeating pattern of old behaviour into a decision to create a new way of thinking, feeling and actions to embody as life-long change, then you'll raise your vibration into a higher state of well-being.

Secondly, resolutions are performed as part of a traditional and ritualistic aspect of annual reflection.

If you make reflection a part of your every day life then you are constantly re-evaluating your direction by making little adjustments here and there as you go, which is much more manageable than one massively ambitious life change over the course of an evening.

Micro changes are easier to implement and as humans inconsistency is a problem we all face. Because we have so much responsibility to ourselves and others, our energies must be balanced otherwise we sacrifice attention to another area of our lives.

Consequently, we make positive steps forwards in one area but at the detriment of another, which over time creates imbalance. Once we recognise this we shift our attention to the area that requires our immediate attention and the pattern of imbalance repeats itself, only now it's affecting something else which is equally as important.

This is one reason why we give up on our resolutions because our attention was solely on one main thing but life is full of moving parts. Balance is key! Quite often we enter into the all or nothing mentality of thinking that if we just change this one thing then everything will balance itself out but that's not exactly true.

Thirdly, we treat resolutions as we do Christmas crackers - it's something we do as part of a meal or something similar but we don't take it seriously - it's just a bit of fun and part of tradition.

This is significant because it links back to goal setting/habit changing. Just thinking once about something you really want is not enough to create the right conditions within our minds for disciplined growth.

Although you may be serious about wanting such a change, we often fail to get the mind ready for this transformation and transformation is a process that takes time, energy, planning, desire, commitment, perseverance, vision, belief and a mental priority shift, to name just the obvious.

Sorry if that bursts a little bubble but we get caught up in traditions that don't serve us a healthy dose of reality.

SO DON'T DO THE NEW YEAR TRADITION???

Absolutely not, in fact you can still do them in regards to enjoying the festivities but I offer a polite warning. Without getting into esoteric history and spiritual warfare conspiracies, I will suggest that you perhaps look into the origins of Christmas and New Years celebrations but that's off topic. My intention is to focus purely on what you can do to achieve these resolutions and it starts with all the above.

Let's look at the New Year in a different way - it's all about perspective!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hstJ9MyAzTE?feature=share

Jordan Peterson sums this up pretty well so I'll explain what he's alluding to but there are several points to consider and I'll go through them individually. Sit tight for a few seconds please...

It's getting hot in here, can you tell?

Wishing upon a star

There is nothing wrong with aiming high, that's fundamentally a great place to aim for because what it represents is a goal worthy of your attention. We quite often marvel at the stars in the sky but equally as often we marvel at people of celebrity status - these are the wrong stars to marvel at.

Wishing for and aiming for are two very different things. Wishing is based on that which you don't truly believe is possible but aim for it anyway - this is setting yourself up for failure, disappointment and temporary motivated actions. Aiming for is based on ones intentional aspirations to achieve something that is attainable whilst being backed with purpose, drive and inspiration - this is setting yourself up for success, achievement and consistent goal-orientated actions.

Your goals don't have to be logical, sometimes we need illogical goals, ideas or concepts. The difference between fantasy and logic is that with fantasy, we assume the impossibility of it's attainment whereas logic dictates that there's a probability of failure and success in equal measure.

The difference is, you get to choose to aim for it with optimism or pessimism and all of this goes right back to the foundations of our human minds - our thoughts, our emotions, our beliefs and actions make up our attitude and our attitude dictates our results.

Writing down your future

One typical New Years Eve problem is that we're taught to reflect on the past year and then think into the year ahead. Whist this covers reflection and vision, it misses out the present moment.

Although our failures from the past might inspire future goals, which is an unfortunate motivator for change, what is missed on New Years Eve is the integration of the future we imagine into the now of our present moment. WHY?

Because in the moment all we are doing is setting our sights on the end result without laying the foundations for change and all of this takes place on the tip of our tongues. Meaning that we've probably not given it much thought at all because we've not been thinking about it beforehand as we've been too distracted by the festive period of Christmas.

By writing down on paper, you're actual vision of the future you desire, you create a physical connection between internal thought and external practicality. The act of writing in pen to paper is creation through the act of handwriting which is a form of artistry. Writing is symbolism of language and language has a resonance. We can read words internally within the mind or speak them aloud - both of which are significant, especially when it comes to goal achievement.

This is why the combination of writing your intentions then speaking those intentions out loud, with repetition, is so powerfully effective. When you commit to the habit of reading your intentions daily and nightly, you continually reinforce the present moment that your future goals are already existing in the now.

Belief comes from the repetition and consistency of your abilities to commit to your vision despite all distracting factors, both internally and externally - WILL. With the right attitude and actions towards your goals, eventually that belief in your goals will turn into faith and faith is the knowing of ultimate success, no matter what.

I apologise for amount of reading you're doing today but there's lots to unpack...have a minute if you want!

In fact, have a look at this, see if helps take the edge off...

Time to get real...LOL...

https://youtu.be/dAE7uOO_4v4

Welcome back and if you didn't go anywhere then hey, whatssup...so where was I...

Specify your conditions of failure

It might help to read the blog on the 'Terror Barrier'. Whenever we aim for something we want our limiting beliefs put up a fight to keep us in the comfort zone of safety. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be comfortable but if we seek growth then being uncomfortable is essential.

To gain anything of value we must commonly sacrifice comfort because change isn't easy. We are telling ourself, that which we seek for our development is connected to the fear of failure and our fears are usually based on the notion of not being worthy of such success.

This creates a barrier of worry, doubt and fear and this exists within us from previous experience based on past failures which makes us feel apprehensive about moving forwards.

But awareness of this barrier can make or break us so I highly suggest that you spend time delving into your core beliefs but this is not for right now - let's keep going.

Get the thing that's important & better at pursuing them

This is backwards. What it means is to first get better at understanding the process of goal setting and learning about the change process. When you understand how your mind works you'll gain insight into how to start thinking clearer.

New Year resolutions bypass the process of laying the foundations for change and this often comes with learning/studying etc. Many of us are tired, drained and fatigued from the struggles of life and knowing that we need to put in more effort can be instantly off putting - therefore the simplicity of a traditional resolution sounds easier and so we opt for that.

Willpower alone will not reap the rewards you seek because the motivator for your goals is based on loose personal goals that you'd like to achieve but aren't committed to. There's usually a lack of desire and purpose because we haven't put the time into setting the stage for change.

• read 'Living with Purpose' & the blog on 'Desire'

Gift wrap please?

Life isn't neat and tidy but a gift is still a gift!

Although most of we're brought up on similar New Years Eve traditions, I hope I have done enough to convince you that resolutions aren't the way forward. I certainly don't suggest that you abandon them altogether but instead make slight adjustments to how you see New Years Eve in particular.

A step further from this is how you see the whole year and I'm now referring back to how our perspectives shape our version of reality. With one adjustment to how you see time in general, you potentially unlock a whole new way of living and experiencing your world.

Try not to place too much emphasis on one singular global event countdown tradition. Instead, perhaps reflect more often, imagine your future in the workshop of your mind and bring it back to the present moment through written plans, affirmations & actions that you speak/take daily.

REMEMBER - your life isn't a Christmas cracker, it does have significance and what's inside absolutely matters.

With that, I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas, that you enjoy the New Year but above all, celebrate and be grateful for all the good you've achieved and all the positive you have in your life.

When you choose goals not from lack but from a wanting of adding to what you have, you change the energy into positive inspiration - to be inspired is to have a universal, divine or other worldly input that will come to you through thoughts, images, intuitive prompts, ideas, concepts & synchronicities/coincidences - this is the real source of creation.

From now on - you don't need a new you, maybe just a new way of doing things!

Celebrate the little wins, be grateful for the losses & appreciate the moment of now.