It’s that time of year again – how quickly the year seems to pass!  It feels like only a few weeks ago that people were talking about their New Year’s resolutions for 2019. And now with the New Year here, I hear many people telling themselves they’ll “start” [eating clean, working out, saving money, etc.] in January.

Many people run the same cycle year after year. It’s very easy to convince ourselves that it’s ok to indulge now, because after all, “it’s the holidays!”  In fact, how many times have you done this in the past? Maybe it’s eating foods you wouldn’t normally eat, drinking more than you know you should, or simply procrastinating to make a positive change towards better health. Then after several weeks of gluttony, we set our New Year’s resolutions, proclaiming that “this year will be different”… only to have forgotten about them by March, if not sooner, and back to our same patterns of the past.

Why does this seem to happen to so many people?  It’s simple:  IDENTITY. In other words, we all have an identity of who we think we are/aren’t that runs deep in our subconscious. And if you set a resolution that doesn’t last, it’s because part of you doesn’t believe you will/can make the change. The patterns of how you consistently operate (work, health, finances, relationships, etc.) are based on the identity that you have “programmed” for yourself. Like it or not, you have unconsciously conditioned in specific behaviors that have created how you live day today. And wherever you are in your life (health, finances, relationships, career) is based on what your identity believes you are worth – the standards you have for yourself. 

In order to create lasting change, there has to be a change in your identity. In fact, the areas of your life in which you already excel, you have a specific standard of excellence; your identity is one that does not settle. If there are areas of your life where you want to make a change, you first need a strong enough reason why it is an absolute MUST! Your why must be bigger than your excuses!  If your why is big enough, you WILL raise your standards! 

Once you have a compelling reason why you must make a change, the shift must occur in your identity.  You must create new habits and patterns that support this new way of living until it becomes automatic. The best way to do that is to resolve NOW to make a change – take immediate action!  If it is a change you really want, you won’t put it off. And even more importantly, if you do put it off until after the holidays, you are simply reinforcing the old behaviors even more, thus making it much more difficult to change.

However, when you commit to changing your behaviors now, you build the momentum to roll into the New Year with success!  In addition, the biggest temptations you will most likely face during the year occur in the last 2 weeks. So by committing to your success over the holidays, you will prove to yourself you CAN do it, and then the rest of the year will be a breeze!Janau