If you didn’t see the beginning of this series you may want to start there: Part I: Why resolutions don’t work.
Now that January is almost over, let’s revisit. Did you have some successes in the past few weeks? Good! Be sure to celebrate them. And if your first month of 2013 hasn’t been as productive or results-filled as you had wanted, then don’t worry – you can start NOW. And again NOW. And NOW. You have a new opportunity every moment, and definitely every day, to do it again. Isn’t Eternity grand?
You need three things to actually make a change in your life:
- You need to make a decision – a stake in the ground – taking responsibility for the fact that this is actually in your control and you’re the one who can do it.
- You need personal power to re-make that decision again in the future – you’ll need to be able to tap into your own inner strength when you’re challenged and feeling weak
- You need to be kind to yourself and forgive yourself when you falter – and then you need more personal power to make the decision again
Of all those, the first one – the decision – is most important. That’s why resolutions don’t work; they are just ideas, they are not commitments. This often needs to come through some difficult self-reflection. In order to change your behavior, you need the insight into why you’re behaving in a certain way, so that you can pop that delusion. To make a resolution is just window-dressing; it’s not getting to the root cause. To make a DECISION has weight. That’s where you’ll see real results come. But that requires a level of honesty and inner truth-seeking that many of us find difficult.
In order to be honest with yourself, you need clarity. In order to have the strength to make a decision, you need pwersonl power.
The best way to get both?
MEDITATION.
Meditation helps you find the clarity and strength to a) make the good decisions in the first place – you can fight the good fight when you have yourself backing you up; and b) keep moving forward on the path you know to be right even when it’s not easy, when there are twists and turns and it’s uphill both ways.
It’s actually really really simple to make changes in life – they all come from within, and the only thing that’s required is to decide to change.
Today is a great opportunity for you to put this in practice.
Spend some time meditating and you’ll gain the clarity and power and wisdom to help make these decisions. That’s where real change – and real peace – comes from. Take some time to meditate and you’ll be setting yourself up for success in all that you do.
And good luck with your 2013!! It’s going to be a glorious year – all 11 months that are left of it! Make the most of this time!