Already Slipped on Your New Year’s Resolutions? Read This!

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How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions for 2019? If you’re having a hard time following through, you’re not alone.

In fact, 80% of people fail to stick to their New Year’s resolutions for more than six weeks.

But why?!

Why Do Most New Year’s Resolutions Fail?

The real reason most of us can’t stick to our resolutions is because they are unrealistic and don’t match our beliefs.

Let’s say you want to quit smoking. You know you should quit smoking, but what’s the reason why? Ask yourself: Why do I believe it’s important to quit? Why must I follow through?

To put it simply, if you don’t have a strong enough reason to follow through on your goals, you will lose steam after a few weeks. It’s not enough to want to change, you need to believe it’s important.

In order for change to occur, you need to rewire your brain.

If you don’t believe it’s important, here’s what happens: When you don’t feel like going to the gym and skip it, you feel shame and resent yourself. You say to yourself, “I can’t do this. I’m too lazy.”

These types of negative beliefs are the reason we self-sabotage and they’re why we can’t stick to our New Year’s resolutions.

In reality, it’s not a big deal that you skipped the gym for a day. If you think that’s the problem, you’re missing the point. The point is that you have the wrong mindset – and when you cultivate the right mindset, the right behavior will follow.

The Science of Breaking Habits

There’s a great deal of truth to the saying, “It’s all in your head.” Your brain controls everything you do, think, and feel. Our thoughts shape how we behave and, ultimately, the person we become.

“The thing about beliefs is they are like a program that keeps running, where you keep checking things against whether it matches your beliefs or not,” says Dr. Richard Bandler, co-creator of neurolinguistic programming (NLP).

“And when your beliefs say that things are possible, and things will make you feel good, then what’s going to happen is it is going to affect you physiologically in a very different way than if you believe it’s impossible. When you believe that things are impossible, you do not actually try and you certainly do not try with every fiber in your soul and every cell in your body.”

It’s not enough to want to change, you need to believe it’s important.

For example, if you believe you can’t lose weight, then your brain will find ways to strengthen that belief. And sadly, those negative beliefs will likely become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In order for change to occur, you need to rewire your brain. To break a habit, you must introduce new thoughts and beliefs, reinforcing them until they become ingrained in your mind. As time passes, these new thoughts will replace the old ones.

If you’re looking to incorporate yoga into your new workout routine, here are 4 Cleansing Yoga Practices to Start 2019 Off Right (You’ve Got This!)

The Key to Creating Lasting Change

Now, change your perception to, “I believe working out will make me look and feel better. I want to live a long and healthy life, and even though I know this will be challenging, I am strong enough to accomplish my weight loss goals.”

This way of thinking gives you the inner drive you need to stick to your New Year’s resolutions. When you make new choices that align with your envisioned future, you are literally rewiring your brain to start thinking, acting, and feeling like the person you want to become.

To grow and evolve as a person, you need to step out of your comfort zone and embrace the unknown.

“If you keep firing and wiring those networks in your brain, the hardware eventually becomes the software program and making choices that are in alignment with your future becomes more automatic,” says Dr. Joe Dispenza, researcher and author of Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself.

“When you do it enough times, as we walk as our future self—as we get our body involved each day in the process—this behavior becomes the habit of the new self. This is how we create new habits of thought and behavior. Then one day you naturally walk from your front door to your car as that future person—not as the unconscious programs that you normally live by.”

To grow and evolve as a person, you need to step out of your comfort zone and embrace the unknown. Change doesn’t have to be scary. It can be exciting if you choose to see it that way.

Make 2019 Your Best Year Yet and Follow Through With Your New Year’s Resolutions!

Remember, you are what you choose to focus on. So, make a conscious effort to focus on the person you want to become.

Don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future. Start to become enthusiastic about the present and unlock your potential to start living your best life.

Need a little push? Use This New Year’s Ritual to Manifest What You Seek in 2019