Is Your 2020 Vision Fool's Gold?

Photo Credit: Kobby Mendez

If I see one more post about a resolution turned 2020 vision, I think I'll scream.  Year after year people create resolutions that usually end within the first 2 to 3 weeks of a new year. I often wonder why people put themselves through this relentless torture year after year. What are they hoping for? Do they think that somehow, magically they will stick to the resolution if they keep making it over and over? I call that a person searching for fools gold! 

The only way to truly do something different is to create a new way of thinking, living and behaving. You must find a way to develop new habits that stick. The funny thing about people is in order for us to do this we must change. With change comes a feeling of loss. With a feeling of loss comes the potential to instead stick with what we know. Why do I say there's a sense of loss? Well let's just think of weight loss for example. You want to lose the weight. You need to lose the weight. By losing it, you'd gain so much in return. You'd feel better, be able to fit the clothes you've kept in your closet for the last 20 years and you may even ward off some health issues by doing so. So with all of those wins, where is the loss?  The loss is what you feel when you try to take on a new eating habit and put in the work for exercise. You will lose the comfortable way you live. You will lose what is sometimes felt as control over eating because now you may feel food controls your life as it has decided how your body will or will not look. You may feel you've lost control over your schedule because now you have to figure in exercise daily. You may feel as if you are no longer comfortable because you are losing the comfort foods that you may have even grown up with. You know the ones....that special pie mama made yo when you felt sad. 

Honestly, the losses we perceive aren't necessarily bad losses. Sometimes those habits and limiting beliefs are what keep us in the same place year after year. We feel we are winning because we THINK we are in control when in fact our habits and behaviors are controlling us. The thing to do is flip your reality. Go back to my weight loss example. Instead of thinking you are losing out on mama's special pie, why not set a time of year when you can have a slice and work to get your body in shape to the point that one slice won't hurt you. You win! You'll look good and get your favorite treat but you get to work towards it. The same can be said about the clothing you have. You'll lose enough to get rid of the old and pick up a new wardrobe or slip right back into the one you used to wear. 

The possibilities are endless when you think this way. You must build a relationship within your self about your vision or you my friend will instead spend your year simply waiting on fools gold ! 

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