What they don't tell you about making New Year's resolutions
How to make New Year's resolutions that work and stick throughout the year...
There is a lot of rhetoric around New Year's resolutions and therefore I will save you the theory and just say this: your brain is a goal seeking mechanism and you would have a much better chance of achieving your goals if you can clearly define them. There is a lot more to goal setting and New Year's resolutions than what the experts tell you - this technique is a very powerful way to make New Year's resolutions that stick with you and keep you on track for the entire year.
O Take a pen and paper and brainstorm all the stuff that you have achieved and accomplished in the last year or so. If you are compelled to tell yourself that you have achieved NOTHING then let me say that that's a daring understatement. You have managed to survive, haven't you? Allow yourself to look at your accomplishments and achievements from that perspective. All of a sudden you will realize that you have achieved a whole lot more than you were giving yourself credit for. It's important to do a thorough brainstorming session and write down any and all big, small and medium sized achievements. This first step is probably the most important step because it builds self confidence which can then be carried into the future. Without recognizing or acknowledging your past achievements, you goals won't have the basis of self confidence to stand on. That's precisely why so many New Year's resolutions fail. This is "List one".
O The Next step is to brainstorm all the stuff you no longer want in your life. By "stuff", I don't just mean physical stuff - be sure to include all habits, toxic thought patterns, beliefs, people and activities that don't serve you anymore. This is the second most important step when doing New Year resolutions. Without clearing out the mental, emotional and physical clutter, there is no way you will find space for your new goals. This is "list two".
O The Next step is to ask yourself, "IF I MAGICALLY WOKE UP AND FOUND OUT THAT ALL MY GOALS HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED THEN HOW EXACTLY WOULD I KNOW THAT SOMETHING HAS CHANGED?" Identify the drivers that would represent the change in the external environment. Would you be living in a new house, driving a better car, spending more time with your family or enjoying a more healthy or vibrant body? Brainstorm for ideas, get excited and write down everything that triggers maximum excitement and/or is most prominent in terms of images, positive feelings and sounds etc. This is "list three".
O Look at this list and determine what your goals are for the next year. This list should be in the form of action items. For example, "I will exercise half an hour everyday", "I will take that advanced NLP course" and "I will delegate more work to my team so that I can spend maximum time with my family". Apart from material goals, also be sure to include skills, attitudes, empowering beliefs and values etc. This is "list four".
O Next, place list one and list two on your left hand side, place list three in front of you and place list four on your right. Look at list one and congratulate yourself, look at list two and forgive yourself for any mistakes and wrong doings and finally look at list three and feel excited for yourself.
O Close your eyes for five minutes and allow yourself to experience the achievement of your goals in your body. Let the images, energies, thoughts and feelings flow into your body thereby making you feel confident, energized and happy (feel free to visualize this in the form of light, particles or anything else that helps the process for you). Allow the flow to continue for five minutes and gently manipulate your modalities and key submodalities to maximize the experience. Make sure to have fun and end the session by feeling good about the future.
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