Tuesday, 12 January 2010
As we’re ending the first weeks of the New Year, many folks may be looking at their New Year’s resolutions with some discouragement and frustration as the resolutions they pronounced on New Year’s Eve may have fallen by the wayside. Perhaps a repeat from last year’s proclamation of making a change and living life a different way, only to fail once again.

I have talked to several folks about their New Year’s resolutions and many say, that they no longer do resolutions because they don’t follow through with them. Other’s have felt discouraged because they really wanted to shift their behaviors and attitudes and ended up going back on their word. Thus feeling miserable and defeated.

My invitation to you, is to look at the meaning around your resolution and look deep inside yourself for what your intention of changing a belief or habit is. What if, you did inner-resolution that invoked deep healing and inner peace? What if you approached yourself with compassion, forgiveness, love and gratitude as you stepped into a new way of being. Would that make a difference in whether you were able to follow through with your resolutions? I believe that it would.

Notice how much time you spend on creating resolutions and how much detail you give them. Do you create broad statements like, “I’m going to lose weight this year?” or “I’m going to quit smoking or drinking?” While these resolutions are specific, getting to the core of what motivates someone to hold on to specific behaviors may not be addressed by simply stating the intention. It takes action steps and a commitment to get to the “heart of the matter”.

I’ve noticed that as I facilitate individuals and groups towards inner-resolution, that it’s a process of unfolding or getting clear with what the intention of the release of the behavior, attitude or habit is. That is, why they are wanting to eliminate it from their life. With this in mind, individuals and/or groups create their inner-resolutions through discovering what the initial intention of the behavior, attitude or habit was. That is, to get to the core of where it originated. When we can get to the core or bring the unconscious part of us forward, we can then clearly see what we are dealing with. Once we are clear with how a belief, attitude or habit serves us, then we can release it with love and create space for an updated and healthier choice.

As you step into this new way of looking at resolutions, be patient and kind with yourself. Sometimes the belief, attitude or behavior that you are wanting to release can put up a bit of resistance. Write down the resistance, reframe it to something positive and breathe. An example of this inner resistance may be, “You’ve failed in the past, why do you think you can succeed this time?” Notice the reaction you have. Locate it in your body. Thank it for showing up and reframe it to, “I intend that I am successful in everything that I set my intention to do!!!” You may need to repeat this process several times before there is a shift. The important thing is to slow down enough to notice your inner voice, or “shadow” voice and stop the chatter by saying “Stop!!!” Is that true? And create a new positive intention.

With practice, you will notice how quickly you catch yourself with a negative response and turn it around into something positive.