New Year, New You?

  New Year, New You! Yay! No, not really. We think that the new year will be the golden opportunity to do things better than the previous year. True, there is the opportunity to do things differently in the new year but how often do our new year’s resolutions stick throughout the year? There’s a quote, “wherever you go, there you are”. If you had bad habits in the previous year, they will not magically disappear in the new year because at the end of the day you are still who you are. It will take more than intentionality to change your behavior. It will also take a new set of thoughts about yourself and new behavior routines to transform into the person you want to be and/or create the life you desire.

  We routinely set new intentions to change ourselves at the start of the new year but forget that a change in behavior helps us to make those intentions a reality. Most of us set our intentions but quit or resort back to our old ways by mid-February. Again, wherever you go, there you are until you change how you see yourself and what you are capable of. Our behaviors align with what with think about ourselves. We must first shift how we see ourselves, so that our behavior follows. As an example, if we think that we are someone who plays sports, then we will do that. If it feels like a chore or something you are forced to do, you will not have the same dedication and motivation to participate in sports on a consistent basis. Similarly, if you see yourself as someone who eats a healthy diet, and you routinely say to yourself, “I am someone who eats healthy foods” when you go to the grocery store, that inner narrative about someone who eats a healthy diet will begin to play and you will in turn purchase healthy food items. And on the opposite end, if you go to the grocery store and say, “I should eat healthy items”, you might get some salad or some apples, but you will still end up buying unhealthy food items and not stick to your new year’s health goal.

  So, as you’re thinking about how you want to achieve your new year’s goals, first work on your mindset about yourself and your behavior will follow. One tool that I love to use to rewire my inner dialog is affirmations. They are a great and easy way to reset or change the inner dialog and narrative we have about ourselves. There are lots of platforms where you can listen to affirmations daily. I recommend finding a few that you like and rotating them throughout the month. Just be sure to listen to at least one daily so that the affirmations have the best impact on your inner dialog and behavior.

Wishing you a happy and abundant new year!

Christina


Image by Unsplash/ Maddi Bazzocco