Forget Resolutions

I bet more diet, exercise and quit smoking programs are sold in January and February than the entire rest of the year—all because of New Year’s resolutions. Those initially well intended resolutions end up trapped in a vicious cycle of unstoppable commitment followed by mild distraction followed by waning interest followed by complete apathy, which is then followed by the biggest guilt trip you’ll ever take. Why must we put ourselves through such pain? It all goes all the back to 153 B.C. with Janus, a mythical Roman king who possessed two faces—one to see the past and one to see the future. The Romans looked back mainly for forgiveness from their enemies—those whom they probably savagely ripped apart limb by limb. Today, we still buy into this forgiveness concept by using resolutions to fix what’s broken about us because what’s broken is also bad. We must change our ways in the New Year, particularly after that hedonistic holiday season we just had!

Resolutions don’t work because they’re based on guilt and lack. They focus your mind on something you’re doing wrong and something you want but don’t have. As such, you’re a wretched soul set up for failure every time.

Forget resolutions. Forget what time of year it is. Forget what you don’t have or are not. Erase them from your memory.

Instead, imagine what it would feel like to be exactly the way you want and have exactly what you want. Hold that image for at least a couple of minutes a day and feel the joy of your new self. Write a positive affirmation about this state. For example: “I feel so vibrant and healthy at my new weight of 125 pounds.” Then practice, practice, practice imagining this visual and reciting this affirmation every day. Believe it. Believe it with all your heart. You’ll naturally start doing things that will make it happen.

Affirmations and visualizations are much more productive than resolutions because they have no time expectations or limits, and they give you what you want immediately, even if it’s just in your mind. And, if it’s in your mind, it will eventually become your reality if you believe it to be. Write it down. Feel it. Be it.