The truth is NYE is my FAVORITE holiday. I don’t know exactly why, but it has been for a very long time. (So much so I tried to get married on NYE..talk about pricey! I settled for January) NYE calls for dressing up, going out, socializing with friends, talking about the year ahead, reflecting on the past year, sparkles, champagne and kissing at midnight! All of these things make me look forward to the holiday each and every year. December is a month of reflection for me, as I think about how exciting the possibilities are for a new year! I hate making promises to myself that I cannot keep, or naming a “Resolution” that makes me feel trapped, confined, and resentful. I suggest we get real about what will happen on January 1st. Let’s free ourselves from the loop of “resolutions”
First off let’s kick the word “resolution” to the curb right now. Not because its a bad word, but because many people have a bad connotation with the word from year after year of not so successful attempts and a feeling of “failure”. This awful old pattern looks something like this: “This year I want to XYZ” followed by a few months, maybe even a few weeks of XYZ, than it fades away. This typically starts a cycle of guilt that can be hard to get out of. How about we try something else this year? How about New Year, New Habits? Habits sound a little less scary than resolutions right? Good. They are less scary, in fact they are simple science! You already have habits, good or bad. Once you identify them you can start to create change.
Changing HABITS can lead to real transformation in thinking and achieving, without the guilt. You are no longer reaching for an arbitrary goal you may have set under the influence of that same sparkly champagne I mentioned earlier. Changing old habits and building new, healthy ones takes time and takes grace. You have to give yourself the grace to mess up once in a while. That’s right messing up is not a full failure because you are still working towards creating and maintaining that new habit. No more guilt, okay? The guilt cycle only tears us down and turns us negative. Staying positive is the best way for long lasting change. Negativity may “light a fire under your butt” for a short lived burst. Hold on to the positivity and you’ll transform.That is what we are going to change this year by focusing on New Year, Better Habits.
Now how do you choose your New Years Habit? And how do you create a plan? Let’s start looking forward to December 31st, 2015. Where do you want to be? This can be a HUGE scary questions to ask yourself, so don’t dwell too much. Imagine yourself at this time next year, what does this look like? How do you feel, how do you look, what have you achieved this year, are you happier, healthier, more knowledgable? Then take a second to really believe you can get there. “The starting point of all achievement is desire” – Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich) Be reasonable with yourself don’t try to achieve 10 years of transformation in 365 days. Don’t take it easy on yourself either. Picture the you that YOU want to be….Go ahead, I’ll wait…Got an idea?
What did you picture? Was it exciting? Was it terrifying? Do you already feel a bit overwhelmed? Now let it go. (*Insert frozen chorus here*)
To create the plan you have to take one step at a time. You must get down to the details, the nitty gritty, the everyday habits. Achieving BIG things is possible, but not if you don’t make a plan. Start with your habits right now. What is preventing you from getting what you want? Time? Money? Stress? Energy? Commitment issues? Fear? All of the above? Start with 1 and let’s tackle it. Set one intention to improve one habit. ONE HABIT, no more no less. There will be many habits to create and achieve to reach your full potential by December 2015, but you have 365 days to work for those. So this year on January 1, start with one. I’ll give you an example
On December 31st, 2015 I plan on reflecting on a ROLLER COASTER of a year. I will have successfully kept my business afloat and even thriving, without sacrificing my health or sanity. For those of you who know me. You know that when I get stressed I get sick, I plan on breaking that cycle. In fact I will achieve the opposite. I will have grown, improved, become even more hyper focused, energized and healthier in 2015!
My New Year Habit Plan: Create a morning “holy hour” where I have time for me, myself and I. Now this “holy hour” definitely will not start off as an entire hour. I am starting with just a few minutes. Now THAT sounds manageable. Notice in my New Habit I was open, because I don’t want restrictive rules. Guidelines I can follow, rules feel like a cage. I want my “holy hour” to transform and shift as my year does. I am starting with 10 minutes of journaling. That is writing down whatever is in my head and on my heart. This will be time I devote to being positive and reflective. Gratitude and Must Do: Starting the journal entry with thankfulness and ending it by prioritizing my day. This is a stress technique I have learned can have a huge impact on my state of mind and that is how I am going to transform the rest of my year. That’s it. One small habit. Waking up 10 minutes early and writing down anything. Most likely I wont have to wake up earlier at all. I will just refocus the time I already use dragging my feet out of bed. I can write down one sentence, or 10 pages. Simple.
Your New Year Habit Plan can be and should be something that is very specific to you and your goals and dreams for December 31st, 2015. (Although if you have similar goals as I do and you want to steal my habit, go for it) Choose something small. Maybe it is doing 10 minutes of activity 3 days a week. Maybe it is eating 1 extra serving of fruit or veggies 4 days a week. Maybe it is limiting your FB time to 20 minutes a day so that the other time usually wasted scrolling and scrolling can be used for something else. Maybe it is a weekly reflection on where you are in comparison to where you would like to be. Be creative, but keep it simple, achievable and as specific as you need. If you need restrictive rules, make some. My BIGGEST suggestion is NO MORE GUILT! (Guilt is a whole other bad habit topic for later) If you miss a day, do not fall into the guilt trap that makes you negative and pessimistic and eventually give up. Instead give yourself grace, know that you are human and we are allowed to act as such. Does this sound achievable this new year? Can you create a New Year Habit Plan? Give it a shot, I believe in you. I believe in the power of change. We are all in this together. Let’s create change and let us start within =)
Let’s ROCK 2015!
PS If you need accountability comment below and share your New Year New Habit with someone you love that can ask you about your progress.
Further Reading Suggestion: The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg