If New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work for You, Try The Resolution Alternative

Tired of making resolutions only to break them early in the new year? Me, too.

That’s why I just came up with Working with Wisdom’s Resolution Alternative. This three-step process is designed to activate the power of your subconscious to create your best year yet with grace and ease.

So, what does your best year look like? Our thoughts can create our reality. The good news is that our subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between what is true and what we imagine in our thoughts. Here’s proof. Imagine you are holding in your hand your favorite treat. It might be a thin mint cookie or a juicy clementine. You see it, feel it and smell it. Now, imagine yourself taking a bite. You’re salivating, aren’t you? Even though you “know” the treat is imaginary, you told your mind it is real and your body began to prepare for digesting that treat. That’s the power of your subconscious.

Napoleon Hill, author of “Think and Grow Rich,” was one of the most influential leaders in the personal success movement. “Whatever your mind can conceive and believe it can achieve,” he wisely advised. “The possibilities of creative effort connected with the subconscious mind are stupendous and imponderable. They inspire one with awe.”

The Resolution Alternative:

STEP 1: Celebrate This Year’s Successes. We so often focus on our “to do” list that we forget to appreciate all we’ve done. Spend some time writing down all the big and small goals you achieved this year, and even the valuable lessons learned from mistakes and failures. Don’t stop until you have at least 25 on your list. This simple practice will boost your confidence for what’s to come. Find some way to reward yourself, whether it’s a small gift or a favorite activity. You deserve it!

STEP 2: Journal about the New Year. Even though it hasn’t happened yet, this is the perfect time to write about the magnificent year you are about to experience. It’s called affirmative journaling or scripting. Think of it as a letter to your subconscious.

Perhaps you want to grow your business with more ideal clients, get promoted or hired, get in shape or have more work/life balance. Write from the perspective of a year or even a quarter year from now and summarize each month. You might begin with: “Wow! What an amazing year 2009 has been! It all began in January when…” Be bodacious and playful. Have fun with it. Infuse it with all the emotions you would feel if it was real. Engage your senses and include vivid details of all your personal and professional aspirations, like fabulous family beach vacations and how you increased revenue by 50 percent over last year. You’ll find scripting will serve to tap into your inner wisdom and spark fresh ideas to solve your most challenging problems and capitalize on your most promising opportunities.

You might even add simple illustrations, like a photo album of the future. Once you’re done, read your entry to someone you trust who will hold that vision with you. Better yet, encourage that person to do their own affirmative journaling so you can support each other.

STEP 3: Trust in the Process. That’s right. I’m not asking you to write down the goals that emerged from your journaling exercise and then make a list of all the things you should do. Just refer to your journal often and add to it when you are inspired to do so. Trust that if you truly desire and know you deserve all the gifts the year has in store for you, you will be guided to take action. All the people, resources and inspiration you need will appear at just the right time. You will easily make wise choices aligned with your new reality. For example, if you see yourself at your ideal weight, you will naturally eat healthier and be more active. And so it is.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If the tradition of making resolutions has consistently left you, well, a little crazy, “The Resolution Alternative” could be the breakthrough you need. There’s only one way to find out. I’ll begin this process this week and I hope you do, too. Then, let’s share our experiences and learn from each other. Send me an email at tricia@divinewisdomatwork.com or post a comment here.

To a Divine 2009!