I was never into New Year’s Resolutions. I reasoned that it would be better to wait for the spring. You know, the change of season where everything is new and fresh. But when March finally rolled around no one was talking about resolutions and goal setting. So, another year would pass, and I’d forget about the whole thing.

 

Until mid-December when I’d see magazine covers plastered with the “Top 10 Resolutions to Help You …”, “5 Resolutions You Should Actually Keep”, and everyone’s favorite, “New Year New You.” Insert finger in mouth and press gag reflex.

 

Who the heck needs reminders about one more thing you must do? Or another warning about all the things you continue to suck at. Nobody, that’s who.

 

Maybe you had big goals for 2018 and with only two weeks left you’re feeling discouraged because things haven’t gone the way you’d planned. This isn’t just the time of year to be merry, it also seems to be the time of year you’re asked to get your schtick figured out so you can get closer to the ideal you.

However, something, or someone, keeps holding you back and you can’t quite put your finger on it. I know! Me too!

 

But I think I’ve figured it out. I know what’s been holding me back and it could be what’s been holding you back too. Here it is… the big reveal… It’s better than unwrapping that beautifully wrapped gift. Okay, maybe not that good.  Because when you unwrap it, you see that it’s just a mirror. And not the fancy light-up kind that has filters.

 

You look in the mirror and see what has been holding you back. You see fear and self-doubt. You see the opinions of others reflecting, and you know they’ve been stopping you from seeing what’s really there. And what’s really there is a friggin awesome human who has a lot of talent she’s keeping boxed up. Even if it is beautifully wrapped.

 

So do I think that resolutions work? No, not really. Because you can never out-succeed your self-view. If your self-view is sucky and pessimistic, that’s all your going to see. And if that’s all you see, that’s all you’ll get.

 

To identify your self-view, take a look at your life today – right now – and ask yourself the following:

 

1) Describe the self-view that a person with my level of happiness would have.

 

2) Describe the self-view that person with my net worth would have.

 

3) Describe the self-view that a person with my level of success, joy, and fulfillment would have.

 

Write down your answers.

 

Now, take a red marker and write over your answers with big bold letters IT’S A NEW DAY! Notice that I wrote DAY, not Year. Because you don’t have to wait for a particular time of year. You can choose to change in a moment. So why not make that moment right now?!

 

Declare who you are. Quit declaring that you’re broken, have no money, are overweight, average, shy… [insert your negative self-talk here]. These limiting beliefs aren’t serving you, they are just creating more of the same. If you want something different in 2019 your thinking must be different.

 

Decide what you want. Declare it out loud and in writing. Realize that you have the power to make it happen in a moment.