Successful and Sustainable Resolutions

Here we are again at the beginning, and with each New Year we give ourselves the opportunity to look within and direct our lives towards what is most important to us.  The New Year’s resolution has become a tradition that helps us to reconnect with goals we want to achieve and the changes we want to make, as well as to harness the motivation we need to make them happen.  So how do we direct ourselves more to the life we want to live and where do we get the motivation to be successful?

1.       Clarity is Key.  What our goals are is not as important as how clear we are about them.  We all have different goals and desires and we are all capable of successfully manifesting them when our intentions are clear and we are in alignment with our Core Values.  Clarity is the first step in realizing what we truly want and desire.

First we look at our goals, desires or resolutions and decide which one is most important to us at this time.  The more important something is to us, the more it is aligned with our core values.  Now we imagine doing or having exactly what we want, allowing ourselves to feel it, see it and live it as if it were here right now.  Does it feel good?  Do we still want it?  If the answer is yes then we go to step two, if not then we look again and make another decision.  Goals, desires and resolutions are a lot easier and more fun to achieve when we are clear about them and they are aligned with our core values. 

2.      Take action and be present.  No matter what our goals and desires are, in order to realize them we need a plan of action.    

Each action we take that is aligned with our intentions and resonates with our core values moves us closer to manifesting what we want.  When we are present with ourselves and aware of our thoughts and emotions, we are able to be clear about choices that best direct us towards achieving our goals.  It is easy to get swept up in the desire to be at our goals before we have taken the necessary steps to achieve them, but this leads to frustration and self-defeat.  In his book The Power of Now, Echart Tolle says that “the place between where you are now and where you want to be is called suffering”.  The most important place to be when working towards our goals and desires is in the present moment.  Each step we take provides us with exactly what we need to get to the next step and the more present we are, the clearer the next step becomes to us.

3.       Simple and Sustainable.  Not every resolution, goal or desire we want to manifest has to be a tidal wave of change that flips our lives upside down with dramatic effect.  Each of them, big or small, brings us challenges we must face to be successful.  When we start with simple goals that are sustainable for our lives we begin building our resources and our confidence for greater challenges.

4.       Movement is Motivation.  Motivation is purpose and purpose breathes life into our goals and desires.  When we are clear about what we want, have an action plan and are present with every step we are taking, then we are constantly moving towards achieving what we want.  As long as we keep moving we are motivated.