New Years Resolutions - No Joke!

GenuineYou News - New Year's Resolutions - No Joke!
New Year's resolutions are just a joke for most of us. We've made - and broken - so many that we resort to making a joke of it to keep from crying! But it is possible to make a resolution that will make a positive change in your life, and is one you will keep.
The first step is to find a resolution you want to make rather than one you think you ought to make. Most of the common resolutions - lose weight, exercise more, stop smoking, are things that we've been told that we should do. If the resolution is not in alignment with your own deepest desires, it is doomed to fail.
As a Wellness Life Coach, one of the first things I do with a new client is to help her get really clear about what she wants. She may come to me saying that she wants to lose 35 pounds and spend at least 30 minute a day on her treadmill, but soon it becomes clear that what she really wants is to end an abusive relationship, or finish her degree, or find her life's purpose. In the process of reaching her heart's desire, she may find that she is more interested in taking care of her body, but taking care of her heart must come first.
How can you tell if your resolution is from the heart? Here is one process that can help:
Take a sheet of paper and draw a big plus sign on it, dividing the paper into four quadrants. Across the top of the page, write your resolution, for example "I will stick to my diet." Now, write "Current Pain" in the upper left quadrant. In this section of the paper list everything that pains you about the current situation. You may list things like: "I look disgusting." "there are no nice clothes in my size." "My spouse hassles me about my weight." "I will die young." etc. Now, in the bottom right quadrant, write "Future Gain" and list all the benefits of reaching your goal. You might say things like: "I will feel beautiful." "I can wear great clothes." "My spouse will love me." "I will be healthy." You notice that the Future Gains are pretty much the opposite of the Current Pains. When we think about changing something in our lives, we think about what we hate about how life is now and how wonderful life is going to be when this thing changes. But that isn't the whole picture.
To understand if you want to change something, you have to look at the other two quadrants on this paper. In the upper right quadrant write "Current Gain." How does it benefit you to not change your life? In the bottom left quadrant, write "Future Pain" and list everything it will cost you to make this happen. These are often harder to find, but once you get started, they will come pouring out. The listings in these two quadrants will often reveal what your heart really wants. Maybe what you really want is to make peace with your body. A new adventure in self-love and learning to eat when you're hungry, stop when you're satisfied and deal with emotions in ways other than eating, is a much more positive resolution than to put yourself on another diet. That is a resolution that you can keep, because it is nurturing, not punitive.
One definition of insanity is "doing the same things while expecting different results." So this year, don't do the same thing. Do something different and get positive results!

JoLaine Jones is a Wellness Life Coach helping women love their bodies and love their lives! Find out more about JoLaine at GenuineYou