It’s January 3rd and if statisticians are correct, many of you have probably broken at least some of your New Year’s Resolutions by now.
But don’t despair, I believe resolutions don’t work and research backs that up.
Here’s the vital question: How can you be happier at the end of 2021?
I stopped doing New Year’s resolutions 22 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” or “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 practice yoga twice a 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” or “I’m not going to spend so much money”… They’re 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 (when it’s finally safe to do that), you will accomplish the following resolutions (which happen to be the top resolutions people make). You will…
- Get healthier
- Stop smoking
- Drink less
- Probably lose weight
- Not feel like a couch potato
- Feel less stress
- Probably play fewer video games and watch less TV
- Probably spend less money on things you don’t need
- 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 2021 than you did at the beginning.
And let’s face it, 2020 has been such a downer in so many ways, that it probably won’t take much to have you feel happier at the end of it, so why not really jump in?
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… And now we’ve added COVID to the list.
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 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 2021, do what I did and do a Sedona Soul Adventure. The changes and transformations that can happen are almost unbelievable. And you can do it in-Sedona or At Home, both will deliver incredible transformations for your life or your relationship.
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 (or both of you for a Couples Retreat) and start the process of figuring out what’s holding you back, what’s causing the problems, what’s keeping you from having the life or relationship of your dreams? Then they’ll custom design a retreat that will make this the most amazing year of your life. And remember, there’s no cost or obligation and you can do the retreat either here in-Sedona or At Home.
Call us today at (928) 204-5988 or Click here and we’ll call you.
Would you like to speak to someone today about doing a Soul Adventure?
We’re even open on Sunday, because we’re here for you!
“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., Illinois
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“The entire Peru trip was fantastic, I would recommend it to anybody if they want to go to Peru, this is the kind of vacation to take. In the future, I won’t be able to travel any other way — it’s so much more meaningful to bond with the group, sharing a spiritual purpose, with a wonderful guide. You have the best of all possible worlds, all your daily needs met, no worries about train schedules or hotel reservations, and the benefit of a guide that is supporting your spiritual path. I didn’t want to leave Machu Picchu…”~ Linda Gunther
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Wishing you a week filled with new beginnings!