Dear Maggie,
Every year it’s the same thing. I make the same resolutions, (probably the same ones everyone does, lose weight, save money, work more, etc.) and then I break them before January is out. Is there something wrong with resolution-making? Why doesn’t it work? Is there a way to give myself an edge this year that will make me more likely to succeed?
Signed,
Resolved, but Not Hopeful
Dear Resolved,
I love, love, love New Year’s resolutions. It’s actually one of the oldest forms of folk magick, you know. You’re stating what you want to do and be and have in the coming year, and by saying it out loud, or writing it down, you are creating it. Even if it’s only a word or a thought, those are “things” and you made them. And everything that exists today was once a word or thought or idea spoken or written down by someone else. So making the resolution is the first step in creating your new reality!
Okay, so why aren’t they working?
I think a lot of people make resolution that involve an action that they believe will result in the outcome they want, when what they should be doing, is stating and focusing on the outcome.
For example, here’s a list of typical resolutions;
Quit smoking
Stick to my diet
Get more exercise
Now the person listed those things for a reason. Those are things she or he believe will make him or her healthier. So instead of listing the methods to get to the goal, just list the goal.
I will end 2008 healthier than when I began it. Every day I’ll do something positive for my health.
And now you have a much easier goal. If you don’t smoke one day, do exercise the next day, eat wisely the day after that, then you’ve done something each day to contribute to your good health, and you’re taking baby steps to get to the bigger goal.
By year’s end, if you’re consistent, you might very well have lost weight and quit smoking. But this way, whether you’ve lost ten pounds or fifty, whether you’ve quit nicotine entirely, or dropped from a pack a day to a pack a week, you have still succeeded. Best of all, you won’t feel like you’ve failed the first time you slip up.
Deliberatel creations tend to fall into place more easily when we don’t make them into a major job we have to do, or equate them with numerous actions we have to work our butts off to achieve them. They come more easily when we simply decided what it is we want, and then stop resisting it, relax, and let it in.
Good luck, and happy new year!
Maggie
powered by 
