The ancient Babylonians started the tradition of making new year’s resolutions some 4,000 years ago. Since then, we’ve all stood up and declared that starting January 1, we’re gonna lose weight, get a new job, clean out the garage, or save money. Right? Tell me it’s true; you’ve said you’ll take steps to becoming your best self. Right?
But within 10 days, the vast majority of us stop doing whatever it is we said we were going to do.
If you take these 3 steps, you’ll be on your way to becoming a “new you” in 2023.
Step 1: Learn
Put your intellect to work. Yep, that’s your frontal cortex. Adding to your vast stores of knowledge is the first step to becoming your best self.
Read a book, take a course, listen to a podcast. Or teach yourself to knit socks, use a new piece of software, or grow a succulent plant.
Is your resolution to get a new job? A more rewarding job? Great. Consider one of my courses. My 95-hour comprehensive Lactation Education Courses will enable you to fulfill your academic requirement to apply for the IBCLC exam later this spring. Or, if you have about half of your credits and need another 45-50 hours, get my 45-hour Step Up to Lactation Leadership course. Both of these courses have just been updated to include different packages so there’s something for everyone’s learning needs and budget.
Step 2: Get involved
“Book knowledge” isn’t enough. You need to get involved emotionally, and for that, you need to use your subconscious mind.
I suspect others have said this, but in his book, You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter, Dr. Joe Dispenza frequently reminds readers that emotion is energy in motion.
If you have enough emotion around something, you’ll have the energy to make it happen.
Spend some time reflecting on this past year. Get in touch with your emotions.
- What did you want? Did you get it?
- If you got it, how did that feel? If you didn’t get it, how did that feel?
Unless you get in touch with your emotions, you’ll probably never get what you want. It’s a critical step to becoming your best self.
Need a little help? Yep, me too. I like to use this Wheel of Emotions to sit down and write a sentence or two about my feelings related to my past month or past year.
Form a new habit. By automating more behavior, you’ll have more time to work on important stuff. The very best resource I know of is James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits. Even if you read just a few chapters, you’ll be on your way to becoming, as Clear says, 1% better each day.
Need a little help activating your subconscious mind? Here are some ideas:
- Positive affirmations. Some of my favorite affirmations are from the late, great Louise Hay. The ThinkUp app is also great for positive affirmations.
- Visualization apps. I use the EnVision app every day.
- Use an app to develop a habit. Check out HabitBull or STREAKS.
Don’t overlook the importance of your subconscious mind. If you use it, you’ll soon find it’s an overlooked key to becoming your best self.
Step 3: Do it. Live it.
You’ve heard Nike’s slogan: Just do it.
It seems oversimplified, or even reckless sometimes, right? It’s like throwing caution to the wind, right?
In Joseph Addison’s play Cato, written in 1712, the line was, “The woman who deliberates is lost.” That has since morphed into “he who hesitates is lost.” Ask yourself if fear is at the root of your hesitation.
Fear is the biggest dream killer you’ll ever meet.
Here’s the biggest takeaway I had from Dan Sullivan’s book, The 4 Cs: Commitment must come before courage. When I reflect on the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, I realize how true that is. Once I made the commitment, I had the courage to follow through. Fear not.
So learning is important. Emotion is important. But doing it is what helps you to fulfill your new year’s resolutions and propel you toward becoming your best self.
What can you do right now to start moving towards becoming your best self?