Help with Your New Year’s Resolutions

We all make dozens of well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions, but by now most of us have already started slipping.

Ever wonder why we can never keep them? There’s an important reason why making New Year’s resolutions just doesn’t work.

Start making resolutions that really speak the language of your soul. These are the resolutions you’ll keep! Here’s how:

Most of us make resolutions that make us feel subtly (or not so subtly!) shamed, punished, or not-good-enough. What we need is more self-trust. When we begin accepting and honoring the deeper longings underneath our resolutions, we begin a resolution revolution!

Here’s an example: a client recently told me he wanted to stop eating ice cream and start losing weight. He shared that he had made this same resolution several times in the past, with no success. But no wonder! His love for ice cream was his body’s way of telling him he wanted more sweetness and pleasure in his life. Who would want to give that up in favor of deprivation? When he accepted his healthy desire for pleasure, he could turn his attention away from ice cream and begin focusing on other, healthier things that bring him pleasure and comfort. He made a self-loving resolution to incorporate more of these healthy pleasures into his life–a resolution that is a joy, instead of a punishment, to keep. And he reports that now he needs a lot less ice cream!

What are your New Year’s resolutions? For most of us, they revolve around body image or health routines: to get fit, to lost weight, to quit smoking. This year, instead of focusing on the negative (“I’m going to quit smoking!”), focus on the positive desire for wellness. The smoker’s resolution might go something like this: “I will find healthy ways to soothe myself. I will explore meditation to help me feel relaxed, and hypnosis as an ally to help me stay vital and well.”

Find your own way to honor the deeper longings and needs of your body and spirit.

Read more: Spirit, Self-Help

By Cait Johnson, Assistant Producer, Care2 Healthy Living Channels.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Ophelia C.

6:00AM PST on Jan 8, 2012

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sheila d.

2:01AM PST on Jan 5, 2012

this year i dont want to loose weight but eat more fruits less carb. no exercise but walk more

Danuta W.

1:13AM PST on Dec 30, 2011

thanks for the info

May H.

4:52PM PDT on Oct 16, 2011

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Tim C.

11:06AM PDT on Oct 7, 2011

Susana L.

5:07PM PDT on Jun 11, 2011

Thanks

Josephina S.

7:02PM PST on Jan 12, 2011

true

April G.

11:31PM PST on Jan 5, 2011

i agree that making more positive sounding resolutions will help. if your resolutions sound negative, you'll feel negatively about them & not really try to keep them.

KS G.

12:46AM PST on Jan 1, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Bon L.

1:10AM PST on Dec 31, 2010

Thanks for the info.