3 reasons to NOT do resolutions and what to do instead
Here’s the vital question: how can you be happier at the end of 2016?
I stopped doing New Year’s resolutions 16 years ago. The day I decided to do that [or not do that], I felt such a huge relief. And believe it or not, that was one of the most amazing and productive years of my life.
Instead, I do something else (more on that below).
But first, as promised, here are the 3 reasons why I’m advocating you should NOT do New Year’s Resolutions:
1. They don’t work – people don’t keep them
Studies show that only 8% of Americans have stuck to their New Year’s Resolutions by 6 months out. I think it’s actually worse than that. My favorite “New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work” story is from one of my friends who owned a restaurant in Omaha, where I used to live. They had great food and a fabulous salad bar and over the years they discovered that on January 2, people ate twice as much salad, because they were acting on their resolution to eat healthier and lose weight. However, by January 3 it was already back to normal, with people ordering the same amount of cheeseburgers, fries, etc. as they had before. Their resolve was only good for one day!
2. They’re so negative – they make you feel bad about yourself
Even though the resolution can be couched in positive terms, such as “I resolve to eat healthier”, “I resolve to be more organized”, what people are actually doing in these situations is going over the behavior they are telling themselves they shouldn’t be doing. “I should stop eating like a pig”, “I should stop being a couch potato”. Even thinking those things about yourself is negative and counterproductive and doesn’t lead to change.
3. They’re too general and not specific enough – they’re not juicy
Most people are making vague and general resolutions like “I’m going to lose weight”, “I’m going to get more healthy”, “I’m going to be less stressed”. All of these are too general, not specific and not measurable. Getting more specific — “I’m going to lose 25 pounds” or “I’m going to do yoga twice per week” tells the brain exactly what you want to have happen and it’s measurable.
But let’s face it. The worst part of most resolutions is they just sound so boring. “I’m going to lose weight”, “I’m not going to spend so much money”, those just make me want to slit my wrists. Boring, not fun, not juicy. That’s why they don’t work. There’s not enough juice to get you going, to get you excited, to get you to take action.
So here’s what I recommend – Set the intention to do something – ONE THING – that’s going to trip your trigger, rev you up and get you excited
Really spend some time thinking about what is one thing you could do this year that would really make a difference in your life?
That would really make you happy?
That if you did it, you would look back at the end of the year and think, “wow – now that was a productive, amazing year”.
It doesn’t have to be a huge thing like achieving world peace, but it needs to be something that interests you, that excites you, that would make you think and feel differently about yourself.
The amazing thing is, that if you do something like this, it will make the usual resolutions start to fall into place. For example, let’s take something big — if you decide you want to run a marathon this year, you will accomplish the following resolutions (which happen to be the top resolutions people make):
- you’ll get healthier
- you’ll stop smoking
- you’ll drink less
- you’ll probably lose weight
- you won’t feel like a couch potato
- you’ll feel less stress
- you’ll probably play fewer video games and watch less TV
- you’ll probably spend less money on things you don’t need
- you’ll probably make new friends
And you would do it (at least most of it) feeling happy, excited and jazzed, which, of course, is the real reason behind resolutions in the first place — to feel happier at the end of 2016 than you did at the beginning.
What trips your trigger? What gets you revved up? What gets your juices flowing?
Maybe a better question is, what’s holding you back? What’s preventing you from having the most amazing, incredible, fantastic year of your life?
For most people the answers are: time, money, my job, my family, my husband, my wife, my kids.
But what if you didn’t allow for those things to hold you back this year?
The year I stopped making resolutions was the year I started coming out to Sedona and doing sessions with the amazing practitioners here. I started the year unhappy, depressed, overweight, hating my work, stressed out, burned out and feeling completely stuck. I ended the year so happy I almost couldn’t see straight!
I started that year thinking and feeling that my life was a total mess. I ended the year feeling so blessed and taken care of. It’s amazing what can happen in the space of a few months.
Did this year make you happier? If it didn’t, are you going to do something about it for next year? This is the decision that is at the heart of all New Year’s resolutions — what can you do to feel happier at the end of this year?
If you want to feel happier at the end of 2016, do what I did and come out to Sedona and do a retreat with us. The changes and transformations that can happen are almost unbelievable.
And the amazing thing is, you won’t have to wait all year to feel better. It can happen in 3 or 4 days! And you’ll feel better, the whole rest of the year!
Speak to one of our Angel Guides – they’ll connect with you and design a retreat that is customized for exactly what you need to make this the most amazing year of your life.
Click here and one of our Angel Guides will call you. Or if you’d prefer, call us toll free at 1-877-204-3664 (US and Canada). For our friends outside the US and Canada call 01 928-204-5988 or click here and one of our Angel Guides will call you.
Wishing you the most spectacular year ever,
Debra
Debra Stangl / Founder
Sedona Soul Adventures – Transforming Lives One Soul At A Time
(877) 204-3664
https://sedonasouladventures.com
Janet says “I saw the emails for years and never made the commitment.”. When she finally did her Soul Adventure, “it was the best thing I’ve ever done for myself”, ” better than I could have ever imagined it to be.”
“Sedona Soul Adventures was the best thing I have ever done for myself. I had seen the emails for years and longed to go but never made the commitment. When stress was overtaking my life and getting so out of control it was the only place I felt I could turn to. It was an act of survival to get myself balanced again. Being a mother of two young children and working full-time I needed to take some rest and reenergize. It was better than I could have ever imagined it to be. The techniques I learned and the “AHA” moments gave me new life again. Trust me, everyone benefits with a better you. Thank you Sedona Soul Adventures.”
Janet B., Homer Glen, Illinois
Is travel on your list of New Years Resolutions? Is Machu Picchu on your bucket list? Join us June 17-30
Is seeing Machu Picchu on your bucket list? If so, make the decision that this will be the year you do it. Our Mystical Peru journey is so amazing. Spending 3 days at Machu Picchu, experiencing Lake Titicaca, the Uros Islands, Cuzco, the Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo, Sacsayhuaman and so much more. And experiencing all of this with our amazing shaman, Jorge Luis Delgado, adds a level that you won’t find on any other tour. Jorge is truly one of the masters of our time and hearing his wisdom and doing ceremonies with him in these amazing places is transformational. Plus traveling with other like-minded adventurers – it’s truly the trip of a lifetime.
“If you’re looking for deep and meaningful travel that connects you to other amazing people, takes you way behind the scenes and most important, creates the space for a deep dive into yourself, Debra and Jorge and Sedona Soul Adventures has it down. Had I attempted to navigate my recent [2015] trip to Peru on my own, I’m confident I would have only experienced about 30% of the true magic Peru has to offer. Because the trip was so well organized and our guides were so knowledgeable, we experienced things every day that other travelers, lost on their own or stuffed in a tour bus, never got to see or feel. It was the trip of a lifetime and I am grateful and truly transformed.”
Lisa Sasevich
CEO, The Invisible Close
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