New Year is almost here, are you ready for change?
Well, it's the week in-between Christmas and New Year's. How do you feel? Are you excited about the New Year approaching - it's a clean slate and the possibilities abound!
Or are you a little blue about the festivities coming to an end? Do you have dread of the next year? Will this year be the same?
I just spent 4 days with my family. It was filled with fun activities and just being together. Now there is a void. Presents opened and put away (well, partially). Now "we" are supposed to look forward to New Year's Day and the New Year, right?
Hmmm…do I?
Well, here's the thing there is no right or wrong answer here. You chose how you are going to move into the New Year. I would get hung up on setting a resolution in the past because I have never been able to hold to them.
Here are my past resolutions:
Let's go on a diet!
Let's join a gym!
Let's do Dry January!
(One year, it was all 3 together!)🤦♀️
In the past, New Year's resolutions were all about stopping a behavior only, and I tried my best to use willpower! Well, as you may or may not know. Will power is like a muscle, and it gets tired and worn out. We ultimately wear it out when we try to use it alone to quit or change any habit. I know I have!
The only way lasting change can happen is to gain knowledge and then add positive emotion about making a change. Then, when you have both, you can take action!
I did this years ago when I started exercising. I knew to live longer than I had to move. "Motion is lotion," Denise Austin would tell me! I also heard someone say the following about exercise and brushing your teeth. I don't particularly like brushing my teeth, but I do it every day because my teeth will decay and fall out of my head if I don't. The same goes for exercise. Keep your muscles and joints moving daily, and you will be mobile when you are older. That stuck with me!
Over the years, I've been challenged with my diet. For the most part, I do pretty well. But, I have set my intention to learn more about nutrition and intermittent fasting in the 1st quarter of 2022 to start using intermittent fasting in mid-February. Knowledge is the key. Positive emotion is feeling and looking better and living longer and healthier. Then, when I take action, it will be easier. I didn't say easy but easier.
On March 24, 2020, I took my last drink. I took a break from alcohol to examine and "reset" my drinking. In the program I signed up we were looking at our drinking and gaining knowledge on what alcohol is and when it affects our minds and bodies. Then, I was introduced to This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. Annie's story and the research she did were the information I needed to get un-stuck. All with positive emotions - grace, compassion, and a judgement-free zone to learn.
I gained an understanding of how alcohol was the same chemical makeup as the gas I put in my car. This was probably one of the biggest Aha's. I also learned about how addictive alcohol is, especially when you start to drink to numb out. How my brain was now in a state of unbalance. How my glass of wine that initially relaxed me had turned on me and was now causing more anxiety.
I also learned how it causes 7 kinds of cancer. How it weakens the immune system. I also learned about Big Alcohol and how it uses the same tried and true marketing tactics that Big Tobacco used to get millions of people hooked. Interesting?
Finally, lasting change happened for me because I found freedom! I want you to have this freedom too! So join me as I mentor in the January Live Alcohol Experiment. Need some extra support? I offer 1:1 coaching. We will work together defining your goals around alcohol, and I will help you achieve your goal of either moderation or quitting altogether. It's your journey! Book a FREE Discovery Call today!