“Most of us have two lives. The life we live and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.” Steven Pressfield

 

Have you gotten your fill of 2023 New Year’s Resolution advice yet?

Maybe you’ve even taken some of it to heart and set a new goal for the year: Lose a little weight. Eat cleaner. Get to bed earlier. Only ONE glass of wine at night. You pick.

If you’re like most of us and you did adopt a New Year’s goal, chances are by now it’s a vague memory.  

Don’t feel bad. They’ve even done studies on this and found that for most of us, 30 days is about the max we can hold onto a new “resolution”. So . . . no worries. You’re in good company.

 

Shift Your Thinking

 

How about a shift in approach and consider that January 1 may not be the only or, for that matter, the best day to make a resolution? 

It’s just one day a year after all and if you think it’s the only appropriate day, and you miss it, you’re in for a 364-day wait before it comes around again. 

Here’s another approach to consider. One that might free you from the personal beating you may be giving yourself because you once again ditched your annual resolution!

 

January 1 is Just One Day

 

Every day is new – and an opportunity for a fresh start.

Let’s say yesterday you crashed. You didn’t get through half your “to-do” list. . . You got distracted . . . The project you wanted to finally complete got pushed to the back burner (again) . . . That big “issue” you’ve been trying to resolve, still lingers . . . and you’re beating yourself up for not getting to it!

What’s your choice here?

You can continue to feel defearted and beat yourself up  – which, btw, wreaks havoc on your health, or you can pick yourself up and start again. 

When you look at each day as new, you can start again, and again, and maybe even again . . .   and this time you might be in a better place to gain the traction you need to keep it going.

No matter how many times it takes you, you have 365 days in a year to begin a new journey.

 

Forewarning

 

“. . . Resistance . . . what Freud called the Death Wish – that destructive force inside human nature that rises whenever we consider a tough, long-term course of action that might do for us or others something that’s actually good.”

Robert McKee

 

Steven Pressfield, In his book Do the Work, writes about the one thing that stops us dead in our tracks – especially if our goals are lofty. 

In a word: Resistance.

Resistance, says Pressfield, is . . . Invisible, insidious, impersonal, infallible, and universal. It “never sleeps”,  it “plays for keeps”, and it affects us all. No one is exempt. No one!  

And the more important our work, the more resistance we face.

 

Just Start!

 

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.” The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

 

The point here is to start – maybe for the second . . . or third . . . or whatever time you’re on. No one’s counting.

Leave yesterday behind.

Don’t overplan, over think, or research it to death. Fix your goal firmly in your mind and see it clearly. As Covey wrote in his 7 Habits: “Begin with the end in mind”.

Then take the first step, and then another, and another . . .

When your goal is crystal clear and you persist, that’s when the miracles show up. 

 

Sending much love to you in 2023! ♥

 

We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts and resolutions in the comments below – let’s all help keep the momentum going!

And as always, need a little boost or have a question, email me at elaine@elainepauly.com

 

PS – If you’re really stuck, grab Pressfield’s book: The War of Art. A great read and a little inspiration to move you forward. Another resource: As a Man Thinketh, a classic by James Allen.