Transform Your Life With Sustainable Resolutions

Every new year, I hear my clients complain about what they hope to change about themselves, what they want to change about themselves, or what they should be changing about themselves.

I then ask them why they are not claiming their power to change right now?

You do not have to wait until the New Year or some other major life event to make a change in your life. Once you’ve decided on a new path or course of action, the key is to stick with it for the long haul, taking small steps every day.

The Japanese call this kaizen, a philosophical concept that emphasizes continuous improvement, often in small increments. The idea is that by making consistent progress, even if it is just a little bit each day, you can eventually achieve significant results.

Sustainability should be the ultimate goal of whatever you decide to change in your life. While New Year’s resolutions are all noble and lofty, you have to acknowledge the inherent resistances and blockages you carry within and agree to be patient with yourself in order to ultimately get there.

I’m still working on some New Year’s resolutions I made in 2016. Do I look back in horror and say, “Why is it taking so long?” or “I really should be doing better!” Sometimes, yes! Do I use that as an excuse to backslide, fall off the wagon, or throw in the towel? Not at all, mostly because I’ve come to realize that if I hadn’t decided years ago to make those resolutions to make powerful changes in my life, I’d still be where I was, or worse. I’d be living a life of regret, not progress.

Adhere to your purpose and you will soon feel as well as you ever did. On the contrary, if you falter, and give up, you will lose the power of keeping any resolution, and will regret it all your life ~ Abraham Lincoln

Most of the typical New Year’s resolutions people make also tend to fail because they do not address the underlying chakra imbalances, stagnant energy blockages, negative thought patterns, self-worth issues, limiting beliefs or self-fulfilling prophecies that manifested those problematic aspects of their lives in the first place.

And if you’re anything like me, you probably also have years more of shadow work to do on a lot of bad karma accumulated over centuries by previous generations in your ancestral lineage.

I ask you now to take a deep breath and realize that you’ve already come this far just by reading this message. Regret is an incredibly heavy and toxic energy that leads to a build up of toxicity in the body, mind and spirit. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

The first step to successfully making positive changes in your life is to become fully accountable and take personal responsibility. The next is to take a holistic mind, body, and spirit approach to adopting the new habit, making the change, or transforming your life. This requires discipline and commitment on all levels, including not only your physical and mental self-care, but also your spiritual practice.

It all begins with making the decision, committing to it wholeheartedly, trusting your own power, and then living each day as if it were your first and last. Successful resolutions are not built on what could have been in the past or what must be in the future. Changing your life happens every day, in the here and now, the present moment.

You are more than a mere survivor. You are spirit in human form, a divine being. You were created by a benevolent Higher Power that is loving, caring, and greater than yourself. Your life has purpose and meaning. You are meant to experience blessings beyond measure.

Whenever I get discouraged, I remember the life of the great biblical patriarch Abraham. He is the father of three faiths who, after a sometimes arduous life span of 175 years, realized the successful end result of his journey. Abraham’s search for the Promised Land is a parable of faith, obedience, courage, and hope. It is a story of determination that has inspired countless generations, and its message is as relevant today as it ever was.

Abraham may have faced the same despair at times. “When will I make it to the other side of Canaan?” he probably lamented regularly. But he kept faith in the face of all the naysayers around him, and in return received the grace and blessing of extra time.

Many people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one-yard line. They give up a the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown ~ H. Ross Perot

When I’m feeling sorry for myself and ready to give up, I also like to remember the journey of Ingeborg Rapoport, the German pediatrician who, at 102, became the oldest person to earn a doctorate.

Rapoport originally studied medicine in Nazi Germany, but was denied a medical degree because her mother was Jewish. She fled Nazi persecution and emigrated to the United States in 1938, where she completed her medical training. She later returned to the country of her birth, eventually becoming the first chair of neonatology in all of Germany until her retirement in 1973.

In 2015, the Medical Faculty of the University of Hamburg corrected the injustice of the Nazi regime and awarded her a medical degree after an oral examination, making her the oldest person to receive a doctorate.

And let us not forget Grandma Moses, the famous American folk artist, who only began painting in earnest at the age of 78. She gained popularity in the 1950s and was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1953. She became the subject of numerous television programs and an Oscar-nominated biographical documentary, and her autobiography, My Life’s History, was published in 1952. She also received two honorary doctorates.

Anna Mary Robertson Moses was a live-in housekeeper from the age of 12 for many years, until she married and worked on farms with her husband. They had ten children, but unfortunately only five survived infancy. She originally embroidered pictures with thread until arthritis disabled her at the age of 76. Her sister then suggested that painting would be easier for her, and this idea spurred her painting career in her late 70s. Painting was also painful at times, but when her right hand started to hurt, she simply switched to her left!

Grandma Moses’ work has been the subject of numerous museum exhibitions worldwide and has been extensively merchandised, including greeting cards. In 2006, her 1943 painting Sugaring Off sold for $1.2 million at Christie’s New York, setting an auction record for the artist.

So too can your miracle journey begin right now, today. May you also decide to stand with your head held high, realizing that you have the power, courage and ability to transform your life and manifest your dreams with sustained small steps, some dedication and discipline, and lots of prayer and meditation!

May you know the power, glory and blessings of both your inner strength and a Higher Power in 2024.