HAPPY NEW YEAR!
What a great time in history to be alive and surrounded by so much opportunity. Many speak of the “good old days” but reflecting on that over my holidays I can’t find a better time, ever, than right now. I like my car and all its safety equipment, the devices that bring the world to me instantly, the array of food I have access to, the myriad options for travel and entertainment (Passenger Concert tonight!), the life like detail on my smart TV, seeing my kids on screen when they are away from home … I could go on! So, loads to be grateful for and a conscious plan to stay away from (or at least above) the complaints of lack and limitation I hear from all too many.
Make 2017 your year
So many make January 1st resolutions and then break them with little or no resistance. One must presume these are just “wishes” rather than real goals that inspire them to push on for that thing they really desire from life. Central to the easy fall back to old habits is the fear most people face as they commence on a new track – the sub-conscious mind is in control – it takes some skills to reprogram conditioning that has been years in the making.
Q: How can I break out of my old habits?
A: I used to tell my school students that “most people already know what to do. The challenge is to do what we know.”
Unfortunately, “knowing” won’t change your behavior. Only a crisis or a change in thinking will change your behavior. Thinking is where the action is and its one of the few things you can control – even prisoners have this freedom when physically locked up. The sad reality is that most people don’t think, so in effect they are locked in mental prisons. We don’t learn how to think creatively or deliberately in most training and learning situations – mostly we receive more information. Knowing stuff does not give us results, our behavior does.
Take some time to really get in touch with what you love. What you really want. Enjoy time exploring what this would be like. How it would make you feel. How others would react. In short, really become emotionally involved in your fantasy. Perhaps you have done this after buying one of the big lotto tickets? You see, the ticket gives you the belief that it might actually happen.
Remember, happiness doesn’t depend on who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think. – Zig Ziglar – 1926 – 2012, Author and Speaker
Now, make a decision that you are going to move towards your goal (no matter how crazy it might seem) and start behaving in a way that moves you towards it. Decide for example that being fitter or slimmer feels better than that beer or muffin tastes and you won’t feel penalized when you confidently and immediately say no when they are offered. As you stick with your decisions your results in that space will improve and you will form new habits.
The extent to which you become emotionally involved with the outcome (the new job, the business idea, the fitness or weight goal, the relationship matter …) believing it is possible and keeping that top of mind as you change habits will see you growing as a person and enjoying the feeling of success that comes with improved results. It begins with your conscious thinking, then making a decision and finally taking committed action over time.
Start today. My beautiful Irish dad used to say “Son, you’re a long time dead” when I asked if I ought to do this or that. And he was right. Don’t let another year whip by where you are living below your potential without the things you really wish for. Honestly, you can change your life spectacularly in just a few months if you choose to. In a year – Wow!
THE MOST DIFFICULT THING IS THE DECISION TO ACT – THE REST IS MERELY TENACITY.
– Amelia Earhart – 1897-1937, Aviator
SMILE
I’ve given up social media for the New Year and am trying to make friends outside Facebook while applying the same principles. Every day, I walk down the street and tell passers-by what I’ve eaten, how I feel, what I did the night before, and what I will do tomorrow. Then I give them pictures of my family, my dog, and me gardening. I also listen to their conversations and tell them I love them or give them a big thumb up. And it works. I already have three people following me—two police officers and a psychiatrist.
If you don’t know where you are going … then it doesn’t matter, any road will take you there. – From Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT DAYS IN YOUR LIFE
- The day you were born.
- The day you work our why you were born.
Think about that as another year starts up. What do you love? Doing? Being? Having? Take steps to move in that direction, now. Today. If you feel stuck and seem to get the same results over and over – my course Thinking Into Results will help and quickly. Message me for next enrolment group information.
