Article first appeared in Prediction Magazine, January 04, p. 19.

Happy 2005. As we start 2005, many of us will resolve to make our New Year’s resolutions work. However, for most of us the real question is, why do so many of our resolutions fail almost as soon as we have decided on them?

On the first of January 2004, I took an early morning walk in Hyde Park in London. I was intrigued by the number of people who were already jogging in the cold at that hour! It made me wonder if many had made jogging one of their New Year resolutions, and how many of them would keep to it, and for how long.

New Year resolutions are a great way to review the areas in your life that need to be worked on. They are a step towards defining what your life goals are.  However, if you are not careful, they can quickly turn into a list of failures, a list of what is wrong or missing in your life. This can dampen the fresh start the New Year promises.

Personally, making what seems on the outset, virtually impossible, possible is nothing less than a miracle. These ‘little miracles’, or ‘small victories’ require dedication, commitment, and demand a great deal of your energy. It is, in fact, one of the important ways of how the soul grows and learns about manifestation and co-creating its future. However, if you bear in mind that you soul’s awareness transcends time, and that your ego is not essentially you, you will realise that you can bring about change, or make these little miracles happen, at anytime.

No matter what is on your list, whether you plan to lose weight, cycling to work, keeping a diary, stop dating unsuitable people, spending more time with your children, stopping smoking (something I am working on myself), or starting a new hobby, the important question remains: how do we get New Year’s resolutions to work?

 Steps for success:

·                   Change the title!

Call it a list of Life Improvements, because that is what you are trying to achieve. The term ‘New Year Resolutions’ may have negative connotations as this can put pressure on your psyche and imply failure if you slip and do not accomplish them in a year. Life Improvements, or soul changes, are still an achievement whenever they happen- (and in any life). 

·            Be realistic

Choose only two or three resolutions to work on from your list. By focusing on three, for example, you are more likely to succeed because your energy will be applied more efficiently to create those three changes, or three new patterns, rather than diluting it over too many.

·            Find your trigger

What motivates you? Any new behaviour can be easier to establish, if you define your reward for achieving that change. Keep your ‘soul’s inner motivation’ in sight, and dangle it in front of you at every opportunity.

·            Reinforce

Your mind is very good at forgetting, especially if something is difficult, and part of you (your ego) resists ANY change, and it is this which can so easily trap us in negative or self-destructive behaviour (think about how many people stay in a bad and violent marriage). Reinforcing your desire for change will counter this tendency. Stick an enlarged photocopy of what changes you want to make; somewhere visible where you would always see it. By using a reminder in this way, you would be gradually and consciously embedding the desire to make this specific change into your subconscious. Life change is about waking up to your true potential.

·            Be ‘hopefully devoted’

Energy patterns that took many years to form are unlikely to change in few days or months. Keep in mind that ‘as you sow, so shall you reap”. This is the way of nature, or the universal law. The important thing is to commit yourself to change on daily basis and to reward yourself for achieving small victories along the way. Celebrating ‘small victories’, reinforces your positive attitude towards change, and encourages you to continue until you reach your desired goal.

 ‘A journey of a hundred miles starts with one small step’. If you slip one day, do not fall prey to being a victim of failure. Rather have hope that tomorrow is a new day which creates new opportunities for you to start that change. Running out of time, does not mean running out of life! Finally,

·           Resolve not to make any New Years’ resolutions!

You don’t have to wait for the New Year to make a fresh start. You can commit to life changes at any time. Once one of your Life Changes is achieved, work on the next one, and so on. Arriving at the destination, in this case, is more important than how long the journey took. Be kind and loving to your psyche - it responds to motivations and incentives better than it does to threatening deadlines.

Speaking of love, next month let’s celebrate Valentine’s by learning about the eight chakra- The Universal Heart.

© Sahar Huneidi, 2005
www.psychicsahar.com,    www.ps-magazine.com