A New Year is upon us and as is tradition many of us start a list of “resolutions” that we believe will “better ourselves” in the coming year. I myself have done this numerous times and I must say it has never worked for me. For the first month or two I wholeheartedly put my all into achieving the new resolutions, or if I am being honest, an old resolution from the year or two before that I never quite reached, and before I know it if fizzles away again. I lose the motivation and slip back into old habits and patterns.

I started to realize that creating resolutions was in effect setting myself up for failure. Inevitably my resolution would fall to the way side and I would at times even beat myself up for not accomplishing these goals. I started asking myself why am I doing this? It isn’t helping me or giving me the motivation I need to move forward in these areas of my life, that I clearly feel I need to work on. What I started to notice was these “resolutions” were coming from a must do, work harder, be better than you already are attitude and it wasn’t working! Isn’t it even a bit masochistic and demeaning to ourselves? I mean, why do we choose to start the new year by pointing out and focusing on the things that are negative in our lives?

Like losing weight – going on that diet you have been meaning to, or signing up for a gym membership, or starting that new exercise regime? How about financial resolutions – clearing my debt, make more money, budgeting better? Career – getting that promotion, landing my dream job etc. The list goes on and instead of coming from a place of positivity we come from a negative space. A space of lacking and fear.

How about if we started off the New Year from a place of gratitude? Instead of focusing on all the things in our lives that could be better, we celebrate all the wonderful amazing things the past year brought us. Entering the new year with positivity, hope and gratitude.

What if in place of resolutions we love our lives and promote that out to the universe when the clock strikes midnight? Even the hard lessons of the previous year are worth being thankful for, as they are teachers helping us reach new heights in our lives.

I am challenging myself this New Year to be thankful for the year past and excited for the year ahead. To love myself, as I am, and pay gratitude for all of the big and little things in my life. In that gratitude comes manifestation for more of the positive. I am not going to set myself up for failure this time.

Don’t misunderstand me, there is nothing wrong with wanting to better yourself and reach personal goals. My tiff with resolutions is this – New Year Resolution – “I will lose weight” vs. entering the New Year with gratitude – “I am thankful for my body”

For me, it is a small twist, but a powerful one – if you are thankful for your body, even with all of its imperfections, you will treat it differently. You will find more reasons to care and love your body, allowing for positive changes to occur. Why? Because in my opinion the goal of losing weight is merely treating a symptom and not finding a cure, go for the deeper values not the superficial ones.

And what about clearing that debt? What if you could be grateful for what you already have and recognize that you are doing the best you can. That your debt does not define your success or your failure. Be grateful for the abundance in your life and more will come.

So, I am going to change what New Year Resolutions mean to me and leave the negativity behind. I’d like to suggest that you start off the New Year with the positive in your life and amplify that.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with me? Share your thoughts in the comments below I would love to hear your opinion.