A Fresh Start
Fresh starts are awesome. It’s why I love New Years and birthdays because they give you a new beginning, a brand spankin’ new clean slate. We make fresh new goals, set shiny new intentions and resolute for change! We say things like, “This is the year that I’m going to lose 15 pounds. This is the year that I’ll break six figures. This is the year that I’ll run that marathon!”
In the beginning, you’re all jazzed up. You get up early and you’re committed. But then life gets in the way – you get busy, sick, and your in-laws are visiting and despite your best intentions, you never get back on track. You’ve probably experienced this a time or two in your life…
Why do so many people fall off the bandwagon after just a few weeks? All that initial energy and will power that you had at the beginning burns out and you end up being pretty much where you started. The worst part is, we’ve become tolerant of this pattern in life. It’s why so many people make the same New Years resolutions year after year.
It’s time to say no more of this madness and start fresh with a whole new approach. You CAN really make change that lasts. People do it all the time. They quit smoking, drinking, or lose weight and keep it off for good. The secret is making a decision to BE different, not just do different.
Change requires action – there’s no doubt about that. I’m not saying you don’t need to take action. But to make a change in your life, that’s only going to get you so far. For truly lasting change, you have to change who you are by changing your identity.
Doing Vs. Being
“If I just had the will power to stick to it…” I hear this all the time from my clients. Will Power is about doing. Will power is about not eating that 2nd piece of triple chocolate cake when it’s all you can think about. Will Power is about pushing yourself to go for a run when you really just want to hit the snooze button and stay in bed. Will power never lasts in the long run. Yes, change does take action, but LASTING change comes from changing not just what you do, but who you are.
Transformation is about being. Transformation is about becoming the person who eats for self-nourishment, and not for self-medication, so you don’t even crave that 2nd piece of cake. Transformation is about becoming the person who values health and fitness for strength and vitality, not because they were told they “should” by their doctor, so going for a run feels awesome and easy. Transformation is about changing who you are and how you see yourself to the type of person you want to be. When your identity changes, your behavior changes, and it doesn’t feel like your fighting with yourself, but rather, that you are just BEING yourself.
So, I’m giving you a fresh start today – right now at this exact moment. Call it the Mid-Year, your Un-Birthday, or Fresh Start Sunday – it’s a brand new day folks (today and everyday). Who do you dare to be?
