Why New Year's Resolutions Don't Work

Three frogs are sitting on a log on New Year’s Day. One of the frogs decides to hop off and pursue the fulfillment of his deepest desires. How many frogs are left? Three- he only made a decision. Good intentions are fine, but in order for good intentions to make a difference, they must be acted on in a way that has already proven to work.

Although the intention of New Year’s resolutions is to create positive change, what they actually do is create stress. One of dictionary.com’s definitions for “stress” is “physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension”. Many people think that stress is caused by things outside of us. However, many of the most severe forms of stress come from our own thought processes. In fact, another dictionary.com definition for stress is “importance or significance attached to a thing; emphasis”.

When we attach significance to ideas that we don’t act on, or when we approach change in a way that has not proven to work, we create stress- even though our intention was to create positive momentum. The idea that we are going to be able to somehow magically transform our lives in one special day is a delusion. Delusions are things that appear to have substance and merit, but they don’t. And delusions create stress.

The best way to have positive, lasting change is to get free of fear, get honest about our deepest desires, and to dedicate time each week to move in those directions in ways that work. New Year’s Day is a great reason to celebrate. We can recognize the progress that has occurred over the past year, enjoy a special time with our families and friends, and look forward with enthusiasm to steady, continuous growth.

May your life be so filled with integrity that your only New Year’s resolution is to keep doing what you are doing!

Nick Lynch is the founder of Local Heroes Productions and the author of “Get Real- A 6 Steps Formula to Take Responsibility for What You Want”. His next workshop is on December 1st at 6:30pm in Roseville, CA. For more information, check out www.getrealworkshop.com.

Slingshot

This is my first blog ever!


I had a terrific meeting with international dance and fitness celebrity Pepper Von today. http://www.localheroesproductions.com/view.php?id=23&cat=31



Pepper taught me the slingshot analogy today. He explained that the farther back a rock is pulled, the faster and farther it will go when it is released.



Most everybody loves to launch forward, but not too many of us like the feeling of going back. In fact, Pepper explained, we hinder our growth by resisting the natural unfoldment of stepping back and regrouping, and our resistence limits the amount of forward momentum we could eventually have if we were willing to trust the process.



When we resist, we feel all of the exertion of work, but we are robbed of the positive results. When are ready to panic because we feel that our life is going in the wrong direction, it may just be that the tension we are temporarily feeling is preparing us for our next giant leap forward.

Thanks, Pepper. I love you, brother.

www.getrealworkshop.com