So it’s February, every one has gone quiet about the topic of new years resolutions. Why is that? Well………. change can be challenging can’t it. If you decided to make a new year’s resolution the chances are you have to change your previous habits in order to succeed. You may find that your old habits die hard. Unfortunately statistics show that many people do not manage to keep their new year’s resolutions.
According to yogic philosophy we are born with mental and emotional tendencies which shape out actions. The more we do a particular action the more more strong the groove becomes and the harder it is to change it. Should we give up then? No, I think the challenge of change is what makes goal setting so transformational. It becomes less about making a specific change and more about being able to take conscious action rather than get stuck in a groove which is no longer serving you.
Scientists have found that when we repeat a particular we strengthen the connection in brain pathways. However we are capable of creating new pathways whenever we want it just takes practice. Eventually the new behaviour will become natural, so how do we get there?
Here are my 10 tips?
1) If you make a mistake, give yourself a break. Think about what you could do differently next time?
2) Talk your goals through with friends, make them real.
3) Believe in you, you can do anything you want.
4) Be realistic and shoot for the stars. You need a goal you can believe in and one that inspires you to make changes.
5) Recommit, if you find that you have slipped back into old pattern make a plan for how to make the changes you really want.
6) One step at a time, big goals can be overwhelming, always ask yourself what the next action is?
7) What was holding you back? What benefit are you getting from any old behaviour that is stopping you from moving forward with your new goal. What do you need to let go of – old view of self, watching less TV to create more time, etc. Can you think of another way to get that benefit?
8) Why do you want this? What difference will it make? Get motivated!
9) Know that change is not always linear, what can you learn from any steps that might have seemed like steps backwards.
10) Be here and now. You are not your past or your future you are what you are right now, decide what that is and don’t let anything hold you back.
Did you set any new year’s resolutions? What has helped you stick to your plan?
