NEW YEAR’S PROCLAMATION
In 2007, the most popular New Year’s resolution, according to Greg Helmstetter, CEO of myGoals.com, was Health & Fitness, while Personal Growth came in second and Personal Finances came in third. In addition there has been a 50% drop in Americans who write New Year’s Resolutions, according to an Opinion Research Corp. of Princeton, N.J. and Stephen Shapiro, President of Goalfree.com. Out of the 45% of those who actually write a New Years resolution, only 8% of Americans achieve their New Year’s Resolution goal. Why has there been a drop in Americans who set goals?
The Answer is, for most of us, goals simply do not work. Even though well intended, most people don’t know how to set goals and there is an insidious underlying obstacle of thinking that sets the stage for failure.
The holiday season, instead of bringing cheer, most often brings stress on emotions and finances. The traditional holiday with feast and goodies passed around throughout the season brings with it the over indulgence of every kind of temptation. By the end of December, there is exhaustion physically, financially, and the extra pounds you didn’t need.
Feeling fat, stressed and the strain of finances, the New Year’s goal is thwarted before it gets off the ground. Some noble souls do set and keep their goals. Most of the ones who set goals and then a month later have given up, feel guilt and a fatalistic attitude, saying “what’s the use, It is simply impossible to do this, I don’t have the will power, I’m too tired”. This sets the tone for the entire year. It is no wonder we have what has been coined the Holiday Blues.
The problem with New Year’s resolutions is that people set goals in January that they have been unable to keep throughout their life. If you have an unhealthy life style, and behaviors and habits that keep that lifestyle in place, you are unlikely to make the changes simply because you have made a New Year’s resolution.
The unconscious eating, drinking, smoking and procrastination habits are deeply imbedded because of years of unhealthy thinking. Remember the thought comes first and then the action. If you really want to change, you must change the way you think.
For example, if you think of yourself as fat and feel fat you will most likely create a vicious cycle of being over weight, on the other hand, if you appreciate your body and the abundance already existing in your life, you attract more of the same. You attract what you focus upon.
When you look in the mirror, stop telling yourself you are fat. Your mind sees in pictures, so when you tell yourself you are fat, you picture that fat in your mind. The unconscious mind does not know the difference in what you perceive as reality and what is imagined. See and feel your body as if you have already lost the weight. Keep your focus on your desired body, instead of your perceived body fat. Rome was not built in a day, neither was your body.
The psychological component of addictions, are likely to cause one to backslide even after the physiological addiction has been healed. For example, if you are a smoker, and think you need a cigarette because you are stressed, it is most likely because you have anchored smoking a cigarette with emotional feelings of stress, thus, when you get stressed, you immediately think of smoking a cigarette. If you did not have the thought, you would not have picked up the cigarette.
Getting conscious is the process of becoming aware of your thoughts. It is estimated that we have some 180,000 thoughts per day, the vast majority of them negative and repetitive. Most people identify with their thoughts, believing they are their thoughts. You are not your thoughts. Thoughts are like a really old movie, playing over and over and over, changing very little over time.
Changing your thoughts is simply a matter of retraining. If you are thinking, “I don’t have time for all of this”, remember, if you took all of the time your mind is focused on old repetitive thoughts of anger, jealously, criticism, fear, doubt, suspicion that create feelings of resistance and irritation and then replaced them with positive thoughts of health, peace, joy and prosperity, you would have plenty of time.
I cannot emphasis enough. Watch your thoughts. Awareness is the first step in healing. You cannot heal what you do not reveal. If you become aware that your thoughts are not on things of love, health, prosperity, and joy, do not beat yourself up. I repeat, do not beat yourself up; gently bring your focus back to nurturing and positive thoughts. Think of the positive results you desire instead of what you do not want. This process takes consistent practice.
You may feel discouraged at first. Remember the way you think has been a “habit” created from birth. Yes, thinking can be an addiction. I am not saying thinking is bad. The conscious and unconscious mind is your tool without which you would be unable function. For example, your automobile, like your mind, does not operate by itself. Without it you could do nothing. You are in control of where it goes.
If you find it difficult to get motivated and change your thought patterns, contact a qualified Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, or other professionals to help you. In addition, there are many wonderful books available on this subject. Changing your mind will indeed change your life.
Another reason New Year’s resolutions fail is because of unrealistic goals. Make your goals doable and manageable. Often setting a large goal seems insurmountable and discouraging if it does not happen as quickly as you anticipated.
The motivation to reach the long-term goal is fueled by the successes along the way. There is no such thing as a small success. If you wish to lose twenty pounds, set that target and then keep your focus on the short-term goal of losing one pound. The one-pound goal is doable and with each one-pound lost, you have gained a victory instead of failure. Even if you backslide one week, keep your focus on the successes.
If you desire to improve your finances, set the ultimate long-term target and then prioritize the short-term goals. Keep a picture in your mind of the results you desire. Feel each success and keep that picture in mind instead of any minor setbacks. One step leads to another and before you know it you have reach your long-term target.
Can you imagine a life filled with love, peace, joy and abundance? When you change your thoughts, and proclaim your right to be healthy and abundant, it is the Emancipation Proclamation of your freedom from your old unhealthy thought patterns. You are not only creating a better life for yourself, the cumulative effect will create a critical mass and shift in world consciousness. “One small step for man. One Giant Leap for mankind”. Neil Armstrong
For more information, contact Tonda Adams, JD. CCHT. MtnQuest Hypnotherapy 775 825-2588
Reference:
Living A Life OF Inner Peace, by Eckhart Tolle,
The Thunder of Silence, by Joel Goldsmith,
The Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale
Goals.com
Goalfree.com