It’s that time of year again. Quite honestly, I welcome January 1st because for me it’s the grand finale of the end of the holiday season and I can get back to a regular schedule as opposed to the start and stop for each holiday. Enough about me!
So the calendar flips, which I do like. But all of a sudden the bombarding messages seem to shout out everyone is supposed to wake up on January 1st as a completely new, highly motivated, color-coded version of themselves. Yuk!
New year. New you. New rules. Yuk again! No pressure, right?! Wrong!
You know how it often goes, you set a New Year’s resolution and then feel worse just a few weeks later because life happened, and you’re not where you think you’re supposed to be and you may even think everyone else is where they are supposed to be…blah…blah…blah… Yuk again! Truth be known, that probably puts you in the majority. Real life happens, oh the joys of this human experience.
What if we skipped the resolution part?
Traditional resolutions tend to sound like they were written by someone who has never met your nervous system, your schedule, or your actual real life.
They usually involve:
- Doing everything all at once.
- Fist-clenching your way through change. Yuk again!
- And feeling like you failed if you don’t stick with it perfectly. (perfect is unattainable)
Don’t we know first hand that that’s not how real change works?! And it’s definitely not how lasting change works.
Let’s talk about intention instead
An intention is softer. More flexible. And much kinder. More realistic. More relatable…and on and on I could go…but I won’t.
An intention doesn’t say, “I must overhaul my entire life by February.”
It asks, “What feels important to me right now?” “What will put me more at ease?”
It might be:
- Wanting a little more calm.
- Being less reactive.
- Sleeping better.
- Eating ”mindfully”. (in other words, not unconsciously eating)
- Or simply not being so hard on yourself. (Bingo! That’s my favorite.)
No gold stars, no prizes. No timeline. No comparison to anyone else’s highlight reel, pleeease.
Change works better when it fits your actual life
Here’s something I see very often in my work with clients;
People don’t resist change because they’re lazy or unmotivated. They resist change because the change they’re aiming for doesn’t fit who they are or how they live.
When goals align with your lifestyle, values, and energy, change stops feeling like a fight. It becomes something your mind and body can actually cooperate with with more ease.
That’s where hypnosis comes in. It’s not about forcing yourself to be different. It’s about working with the part of you that already knows what you need.
You’re not starting from scratch
You don’t need to become someone new this year.
You don’t need to “get it together.”
And you definitely don’t need another reason to feel like you’re behind. Most of us have more than enough of those.
Sometimes the most meaningful shifts are subtle:
- A pause before reacting. (the space between the stimulus and our response)
- A different response to stress. (that’s where the space comes in)
- A little more self-trust. (it just feels better)
Those small changes tend to add up in ways resolutions never do. Please note that the word “subtle” is key with hypnosis work. I like to say, “You’ll catch yourself in the very thing that you now want to say or do instead. It’s just the way it works.”
A Way of Beginning that Actually Works
And if you would like support along the way, that’s what I’m here for.
This year doesn’t have to be about pushing harder. It can be about making room for what actually works.
You don’t have to go it alone as this new year begins.
If support would be helpful, I offer a complimentary phone conversation so we can talk things through and see what feels right for you.
You can call me at 203-907-7710, or click the button below. I typically respond within 24 hours.
