We have all set New Year’s Resolutions before…. and… let’s face it… more often than not we have usually given up on them within 2 weeks to 90 days into the new year. And we are left feeling empty, guilty and powerless when we have failed to shed the pounds, give up the bad habit, complete the goal or project, or begin the new exercise regimen we had ordered for our self. We essentially self-sabotaged from the beginning because more times than not we failed to get into our heart when we started the process. Then we beat our self up when we fail.
You’ve got to want it: An effective intention cannot be half-hearted. It needs to be a want, not a should. Get in touch with your deepest self, and discover what it is that you want with all your heart. Then, affirm that or set that intention. What really matters is that you really desire it. The problem with so many traditional New Year’s resolutions is that they tend to be “shoulds” or “oughts” rather than true desires. They are often what we believe others such as spouses, parents, therapists, physicians or friends would want us to do such as diet, exercise, working harder, etc. New Year’s resolutions begin to be seen from a sense of duty, lacking and futility which makes following through with them have diminishing energy and sense of drudgery.
Suspend disbelief: When using New Year’s intentions or affirmations, you don’t have to believe that your affirmation is true right now – but you do have to believe in the possibility of getting what you want. If you allow that nay-saying voice in your head to negate the intention as soon as you say it, it won’t work.
Keep it short, to the point, and positive: The statement should be brief and in your own words, so that you can remember it easily when you need to focus. An affirmation or intention should also be expressed positively such as “I am the perfectly healthy being that I am meant to be” or “I am energized, fit and organized” or “I am happy” RATHER THAN: “I don’t want to have high blood sugar or be sick all the time” or “I will no longer be overweight, tired and I want to de-clutter” or”I’m not upset all the time”. If you think in the negative, then you place your emphasis on lack rather than on possibility, and the latter approach is the likelier to lead to success.
Write it and repeat it: Jot down your statement or intention and post it in a place where you can see it and energize it every day – on your mirror, your computer monitor, your refrigerator, or the dash of your car. You can just think it in your head, but nothing is more powerful than voicing it. Saying you intention out loud sends the vibration of your heartfelt desire out into the ethers for manifestation and implies a commitment that makes it more likely you’ll take actions to reach your goal. There is no magic number of times to invoke your phrase, but repetition helps to solidify it and bring it into reality.
Happy New Year!! Create your self anew – become aware of the beautiful universes within you as well as around you. The possibilities are endless for you are limited by no one and nothing except for your self.
May you have Bright Blessings this year 🙂
Tracy Latz, M.D. & Marion Ross, Ph.D. (The Shift Doctors)
**The Shift Doctors (Tracy Latz, M.D. & Marion Ross, Ph.D.) are available for keynote talks, classes, events or for seminars (1/2 day or up to 5 days) on personal transformation, team-building, motivation, anger management, intuitive development, intuitive art classes, or collaboration for private groups, conferences, corporations or corporate events. Contact them at info@shiftyourlife.com or find out more about them at www.shiftyourlife.com .
I share the sentiment as you wrote “Get in touch with your deepest self, and discover what it is that you want with all your heart”. Too often people are putting themselves under pressure and feel obligated to have some form of resolution. If it is not what you want, then what is the purpose. I wrote a similar post on the same topic, as to me resolutions should empower you, not set you up for failure.
Great minds (and hearts) think alike, Thabo. I was interviewed on this subject for an article that was printed in Good Housekeeping in January 2009. This post was taken from what I tld the journalist and was printed in Good Housekeeping last year. Happy New Year! Let’s make this a great one for us and the world. 🙂
I really appreciated your article. I have not even bothered with New Year’s “resolutions” for the past 10 years or so, because I did not want to set myself up for failure. I have missed out on the benefits of goal setting at such a powerful time of year. Setting Heartfelt Intentions feels so good!!
Thank you so much ~