By Rena Greenberg
It’s the dawn of the New Year, and your motivation is high to take charge and change for the better. As you assess your life, your attention is steered to an area you’d like to improve. Whether it’s to lose 10 pounds, eat nutritious food, begin an exercise regime or quit smoking, your goals are noble and feel like they’re within reach.
Just as you’re beginning to feel great joy at the prospect of being all that you can be, the dreaded voices of doubt inevitably begin to bombard your inner dialog. “Who are you kidding, you make this commitment to yourself every year. Why would this time be any different? What makes you think you can do it? Why set yourself up for disappointment?”
Before you succumb to these negative messages, rise up to meet them and embrace the following eight steps, which will help insure your success and help you to create the life of your dreams in 2017.
1. Make Goals Realistic
Don’t set the bar too high. In other words, if your goal is to begin exercising, avoid the temptation to run five miles the first day and then fall over in exhaustion, breaking your inner commitment to get in shape. Instead, remember that slow and steady is what ultimately wins the race. If you want to stop drinking and cold turkey has never worked for you before, begin to cut back and set guidelines for yourself, e.g., “I only drink on Saturday evening” or “I will not drink alone at home.”
2. Stay Focused on Your Vision
Rather than putting all your attention on possible failures, focus your awareness on the outcome that you desire. Spend time fantasizing about the rewards of achieving your higher potential. If your goal is to become an excellent public speaker, imagine the audience clapping and smiling with delight as you approach the podium. If you have been battling with nicotine addiction, use all your senses to help you relish the wonderful feeling of living your life smoke-free, breathing easily. Take time to sense the relief and joy of having your hair, clothes, furniture, and car smell clean and fresh. Hear the voices of loved ones supporting and congratulating you.
3. Model Success
Find those who have already accomplished your coveted goal and learn from their experience and wisdom. See if you can distill the steps they took to achieve what you desire. Use people who have already succeeded at what you are attempting to achieve as a model to help you break free from any obstacles. Chances are they encountered similar challenges and by studying their methods of success, you can obtain valuable information on how to get beyond difficulties.
4. Believe in a New Possibility for Yourself
The past need not be a barometer of the future. You are worthy of attaining the goals that mean so much to you. The key is to believe in yourself, as well as embody perseverance and persistence. If you feel discouraged, remind yourself that it took Alexander Graham Bell 14 years to invent the telephone. And remember that even though baseball player Babe Ruth was famous for having the most homeruns, he also had the most strikeouts.
Failure and success go hand in hand when you are playing the game of life. Stay strong in your belief that you deserve the best life possible.
5. Set Attainable, Measurable Goals
It is much easier to experience success when you have measurable, realistic goals. For example, rather than focusing on a large goal that looms in the distance, such as eating only organic foods that you grow yourself, tell yourself that you will plant a garden with five or six fresh herbs and/or vegetables within the next 10 days. Find a time when you can comfortably shop for the plants, fertilizer and pots, and schedule it on your calendar. Then plan a few meals that will allow you the delicious reward of eating the nutritious greens that you have planted yourself. Setting these types of specific, reachable goals insures the likelihood that you will ultimately live the life you desire.
6. An Action a Day . . .
Establishing positive momentum is key! Take at least one proactive action toward your goal each and every day. For example, if that goal is to lose 20 pounds, keep one or two full glasses of water near your bed, so that when you wake up in the morning you can be sure to start your day with sufficient pure, fresh water to cleanse your system. If you take the bus to work, get off a few stops early and walk the rest of the way. Have comfortable shoes in your bag to make it easier to follow through on this goal, despite the fact that it may be raining or you may feel tired. Commit to taking these small actions regardless of your moods or the weather.
7. Ask for What Your Want
Sometimes we are afraid to ask for what we want for fear that we won’t get it. If we don’t request it, however, we are far less likely to realize our dreams. Faith is essential when we are stepping into a new way of being. Take a few moments each day to bow your mind to your heart and just ask your Higher Self, God, or even the deepest place within your soul, to help you find the courage, strength and wisdom within to master this area of your life and be all that you can be in the world. Ask to be shown how you can not only change for yourself, but set a better example for others by living in this new way. Often, when we set goals not only to improve our own lives, but to create greater good for mankind, those positive impulses help to propel us forward.
8. Write Your Goals Down
There is power in writing. Write down, very specifically, what you wish to create for yourself and be sure to include details. For example, you may jot down in your journal, “I am happy and vibrant. Every day I put on my headset and walk, jog, dance or rollerblade. I love to be outside in the park exercising, enjoying the fresh air and all the delightful sights, sounds and smells around me. It feels so good to be alive and move my body.” Writing goals down will strengthen your own personal commitment.
Follow these eight steps and you will improve your ability to accomplish whatever you desire! Every day affirm that you are worth it. You don’t have to let life’s challenges and distractions get in your way. This year, 2017, truly can be the year that you step into the fabulous, beautiful live that you truly deserve to live!
Rena Greenberg, a Hay House author, can be reached at EasyWillpower.com. Her weight loss and gastric bypass hypnosis success has been featured in 150-plus news stories including USA Today, Woman’s World, The Doctor’s, CNN, Good Morning America and Nightline. PBS stations nationally aired Rena’s show, “Easy Willpower,” in August 2015. Her wellness program is sponsored in 75 hospitals and 100-plus corporations. She conducts hypnotherapy sessions with people all over the world on Skype and in Sarasota, FL.
