It’s that time of year again.  That whole “new year, new me” bullshit. Suddenly the gyms are full, yoga pants are legit again (as in, they are actually getting worn to a yoga class and not a coffee shop), organic produce deliveries are on the rise while the deep fryers of late night diners coincidentally take a reprieve from the 11pm-3am double shifts.

These are the weeks when we stare at the list of resolutions made last January 1st, hung onto with dwindling attachment until about Valentine’s Day and ditched completely by June. So we vow to make this year better. This year, we tell ourselves, we are really going to do it. No more excuses.

We make ourselves promises to eat healthier (resolved post [or mid] the mass intake of sodium, sugar and fat that comprised the majority of December’s meals) and exercise more (this promise usually made from the lethal depths of the couch corner). We idealize to do something “different” with our career (this generally proclaimed somewhere in close proximity to Happy Hour on Friday) and to generally do less of X,Y,Z and more of A,B,C, or whatever mathematical equation we’ve generated as a panacea to life.

The problem is, however, the follow-through from one January to the next. We start out ambitious and inspired and then . . .  nothing.   The resolutions lack our, well, resolve to see them through.  Why? What stops us?

I’m going to argue that we do. Yes, you. You stopped yourself from success. You and the tiny voice in your head generating excuses and placing limitations on your own growth. We get in the way of our own progress with our habits, attitudes and beliefs. We allow fear and a scarcity mentality to create obstacles which we refuse to overcome, go around, or use as creative leverage.

Yikes. There’s that whole, three fingers pointing back at you deal repeat performance.  Remember those 10 Ways to keep screwing up your life? Yep. Encore! Dammit. Universe is gonna keep throwing that lesson back at us, again, and again and again, boomerang style baby.

Consider- what are you stopping yourself from doing? What are you allowing into your life that is preventing you from reaching your goals? If you can identify it, you can begin to do something about it (FIX IT! obviously).

But in all seriousness (sometimes I like to play that card, it happens, little professor slip there, the smart ass game will return after this brief educational break), you actually can fix it. Perhaps not in the way you see immediately, perhaps not like you think it “should” be, but in a way that it no longer negatively affects you and your happiness.

Have you considered this- what will happen if you don’t resist discomfort, you don’t worry, you don’t fear? Could it possibly be worse than living with all that negative energy? Really? What’s the worst that could happen if you just let go of it all?

To use a quote that’s been circulating in my life lately (Reticular Activation System anyone?)-

“what would you do if you knew you could not fail?”

Think about that for a minute. WHAT would you do? Really? What does your heart say? And please, resist the urge to follow that statement with “I would but. . .” Stop that right now. This is an excuse-free vision session. Don’t ask yourself why, ask yourself why NOT. Instead of focusing on “what if it doesn’t work,” consider what will happen if it does. Think less about the potential of being wrong, and more about the possibilities of being right.

This is a tremendous transformation in attitude- life altering really. A shift in paradigm to an abundance mentality is the game changer my friends; shit just got real.  And, like most things worth having, it isn’t going to be easy. It’s hard work (case in point) but it’s work worth enduring.

How to get started? Let’s go back to those damn resolutions. This year, keep it tight. Ditch the plans to look like a supermodel by May and focus on sustainable goals that will serve as a catalyst for real growth. Set forth with a performance goal (emotional performance) of embracing change, leaning into discomfort and watching your reactions, rather than setting an outcome specific goal like “lose 10 pounds” or “fit back into LBD from 2009” (insert guilty emoticon face here. Yeah, the one with the blushing cheeks. You know what I’m talking about). Focusing on your behavior, your patterns, your habits, your thoughts, your attitude will generate real change, initiate real progress and help you achieve just about anything you are willing to receive.

Overwhelmed? Not sure where to start? Try step one, not step 100. Pick one thing to focus on (just ONE, overachievers. I see you writing down three. Knock it off) and work to bring that into your life as often as you can. Wherever you are, whoever you are with and whatever you are doing, keep putting out that energy. Physics (and uh, me, and some other cool people) say the law of attraction is likely to bring it to you- you’ll get what you put out there people, so put.it.out.there.  And- sidenote- sometimes you just might not recognize its presence, so you know, don’t get all bent out of shape if it doesn’t like, slap you in the face everyday. It’s there, I promise, be willing to see it.

As a super easy application of this concept, check your vocabulary, player. What words are shaping your reality with their connotations?  One small change in the articulation of your existence can change your entire perception of an event and thereby its effect on you. For example, think of the word fear. Ugh right? Now reframe it.  Use it to create a new association that will empower you instead of bring you down.  Ready? Try this on for size-

FEAR- Face Everything And Rise

Boom! How do ya like them apples? Yoga teacher wisdom here to save the day once more (standard). Namaste to my Zuda teachers for that badassness right there.  But really, it exemplifies how one simple change makes all the difference. Just one. Be willing to be open to discomfort and opportunities, to see differently, to respond better, to reframe your vocabulary, your perception, your life.

So my friends, to you I send breath for the New Year. Yep. Breath. The basis for calm, for balance, for collected, poised and effective response to the bumps in the road of life. Let it take fear out of your world and return it (in acronymical form) to you as your ability to FEAR.  Stop saying I can’t, and  instead say “I can’t, YET.”

Happy 2014, may it be all that that you make of it, and more.

 

   

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