Ah, the pressure of creating a New Year’s resolution. If I hear one more person ask me “What’s your resolution for next year?” I’ll scream. And I bet you would too.
That’s because a resolution actually means a firm decision to do or not do something or, the act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc. I don’t know about you, but I see both meanings as rather negative. Who wants to do or not do something and then end up feeling failure for not following through? And seeking a solution to a problem brings up the idea that we aren’t good enough as we are.
I have another idea that blows resolutions out the window – re-ignite.
What I mean is, think about aspects of yourself that you haven’t been using? What if you decide to dust off those qualities that have been languishing in the deep and bust them open? Say for instance, being flexible, focusing on the big picture rather than the day-to-day details, using your discipline toward results, or even socializing and having fun.
This re-igniting doesn’t just have to be about your attributes, it could be about projects, ideas, finances, or those things hanging off the side of your desk – the things that have been on the back burner and could be valuable to shine a light on.
Whatever it is, the New Year is an opportunity to plan for re-igniting the best you have to offer.
So how can you re-ignite? Here’s how:
1. Forget about resolutions (just saying…in case you missed the message above)
2. Look at re-igniting as positive – you aren’t quitting anything or trying to stop a bad habit. You are bringing out something you already are or have.
3. Use your intuition to conjure up one thing that you know deep down you haven’t been sharing with the world. Ask yourself, “by using that quality, what amazing things could happen?”
Or
4. Ask yourself, if you had unlimited time what idea or project would you spend it on?
5. How might you intentionally bring this quality or idea into your life each day? Maybe it’s making time each day to simply think. Or putting yourself first to allow your discipline to come through.
6. What are you willing to commit to for this to become actualized? After all, things only manifest when we are in 100%.
7. Who can support you in making this happen? Some things just can’t happen unless we have others to help.
Simple, right?
I’ll let you in on a secret. All year, the one thing niggling at me is my website. It has a corporate look and feel, which is great for my corporate clients. But I’ve never felt it is attractive for the women I work with. So finally, I decided to shine a light on it.
I’ve followed my own advice and went through the steps above. I enlisted my amazing team to help me rejig the site to offer both a strong look and feel for both audiences while still keeping to my brand.
It took commitment and discipline on my part to keep this rolling, as my coaching practice got busy. But I stuck with it.
I’m so excited to start 2016 by re-igniting my eveofchange.ca website. We’re putting the final touches on it so stay tuned for the soon-to-be re-launch!
So let’s blow those New Year’s resolutions away and re-ignite something you already have. Way more powerful!
I love the shift in perspective you’re suggesting. Re-igniting the Sparks that we already have within is a great way to energize the new year. I can’t wait to see the update to your site!
The concept of re-ignition is a powerful one! I love the idea of asking for support. So often with resolutions, we may feel we are on our own to succeed or fail – but you have made a great point – we can ask for support as we reignite!
And isn’t it better to have powerful than powerless? Thanks for the comments Brooke and Jamee!