How to create a successful 2019 without 'Resolutions'

“Guess I’ll make a resolution, that I’ll never make another one, just enjoy this ride on my Trip Around the Sun” ("trip around the sun" written by Al Anderson, Stephen Bruton & Sharon Vaughn)

I love that song and that quote because in actuality, I’m not a fan of resolutions.

The root, ‘resolve’ always feels so rigid to me. Feels like too much pressure which unfortunately often stops me in my tracks!

However, I do LOVE positive changes and committing to things that bring me closer to joy and my goals.

So…. therein lies the dilemma. Consequently, I’ve been thinking a lot how to create shifts in a manner that feels both more easeful & manageable. I want to honor a more laid back, joyful approach to life AND have a system for getting sh** done!

Apparently I love the impossible, it gives me all the space I need to break the rules!

Here’s what I’ve come up with ….

1. I don’t have to have it all figured out by January 1st.YES - you read that correctly. I truly believe life is process. Ideally we get a little bit better at managing the machine as each day, each week, each month and each year unfolds. Give yourself time to figure it out. Allow yourself the grace to see a new perspective. Sort through the ideas, sift through different options, listen to your thoughts, trust your intuition, get trusted feedback and slowly integrate the new changes.

2. “Rome wasn’t built in a Day”As a kid, my mom used to say that to me a lot. As a general rule, I would roll my eyes, ignore the wisdom and battle on. I feared that If I slowed down, I’d be wasting precious time which would prevent me from getting where I wanted to go. Well, I can tell you now, Mom was right (she usually is :) and I’ve finally accepted that I had it all wrong. When we power forward out of the fear of not getting to our destination, we actually end up wasting precious resources and oftentimes throw ourselves into a tailspin.

Conversely, when we take the time to plan and think through our tasks in an orderly fashion, it may slow our roll at the beginning, but at the end of the day, the process of consciously organizing will save us countless hours, wasted energy and general chaos.

As per #1 and #2, I’m giving myself the grace of January to get the clarity I need as well as experiment with different ways to put the steps into place. Which brings me to #3...

3. Make one change at a timeExtremes don’t usually work in ‘real’ life.

We’ve been conditioned to think that in one powerful swoop we can drink more water, quit smoking, get to the gym 7 days a week, wake up earlier, stop caffeine, begin juicing, avoid sugar etc… etc….

And I say Whoa! Wait a minute friend! That’s a lot to handle! Especially if you are expecting yourself to keep up with the responsibilities required to live the rest of your life.

It can become really hard to manage it all when expect ourselves to commit to, too many changes all at once. In my mind this is a core reason why ‘resolutions’ fail.

It has nothing to do with discipline, it has to do with a reality check. We can only juggle so many balls at once and expect them all to stay afloat.

I have a dear friend who wanted to lose weight. She made ONE dietary change. She cut out sugar. In the past 2 years, she’s lost well over 50 lbs.

See how that works?

Think on your goal.

Make your plan (keep it simple sweetie :) ).

Focus on one thing at a time to set the wheels in motion!

Let me know how it goes.
Sending you so much Love, Light, Joy and Many Blessings for Success!!