You Say You Want A Resolution...

The Beatles song "Revolution" rings in my ears each time the new year rolls around, only the words change just a little:  "You say you want a RESOLUTION, well you know, we all wanna change our lives."  (You can thank me for the song-earworm later.)  And it's true!  We do want to make changes in our lives.  We want to break bad habits and develop positive ones.  We want to be better than we were last year, thinner, wealthier, more organized, more successful, happier, more positive, healthier, smarter.  We want to improve our relationships, visit new places, learn new things, pursue new hobbies, develop new skills, meet new people, spend more time doing the things we love.  We have been told that we might just accomplish these things by making an almighty list of new year's resolutions.  Enormous lists of grand plans that would likely intimidate the most heroic among us.

We are trying to become THESE people.

But in reality, we're more like THESE people.

We make the "list" on January 1st, and we break the list by January 3rd or 4th, give or take.  We give in to that cheeseburger, that swear word, that cigarette, that after-Christmas sale.  And after our inevitable failure using the "all-or-nothing" method of self-improvement, we set the list aflame (with a bit of relief and self loathing), and carry on our lives as flawed humans.  But deep down, we're wishing we could succeed at changing something.  Something that would make us feel better about ourselves.

But we've forgotten the biggest secret of all.  

We've forgotten that real change is not about lots of huge, radical life-changes we need to make, it's really about very small, very consistent changes that are not so painful.  It's a small rudder that steers a large ship.  And focusing on one or two small changes is not so daunting, is it?  

So, here is my "Wenshine 2014 Challenge" for anyone who has already made (and broken) their list of resolutions for 2014!  Just keepin' it real y'all, you know who you are.  This is what I call the 1-2-3 principle.  (Yes, I made it up, so don't Google it because it's not there).  But it WORKS! 

1.  Pick ONE thing you'd like to accomplish, change or improve this year.  Just one!

2.  Now that you've selected the "one thing", pick TWO things that you know you need to "give-up" in order to begin this change.  Remember, you can't grab hold of something wonderful and new while you're holding on to the old stuff.  What are two things - only two - that you need to let go of?

3.  Okay, now (this is the FUN part!) pick 2 replacements + 1 reward = 3. Here's how:  If you give up a soft drink, replace it with water.  If you give up 30 minutes of sleep, replace it with a morning walk or exercise.  If you give up a vacation day, replace it with an "organizing" day at home where you invite your best friend over to help you get your shizz together.  If you give up a swear word, replace it with a silly, made up word you say instead.  If you give up a negative thought, replace it with a very positive thought about the same thing.  If you give up one night a week, fill it with a class you've been wanting to take.  If you give up $50 per week to save for that dream vacation, replace it with packing your lunch or switching from your expensive cable package to Netflix.  THEN, pick your reward!  You should pick a short term reward, something you can reward yourself with after just one week of effort!  And KEEP rewarding yoursef as you go along - every week, every month, every quarter.  You deserve it.

Before you know it, you'll be feeling like a superhero!

And it's as easy as 1-2-3.