A new year is here, and with it the aspirations for a new you. New Year’s resolutions are a popular practice, yet so often those goals we set in January have lost their appeal by February, and are completely abandoned by March.

Why does this happen? It’s quite simple, really. Although the calendar turns at the stroke of midnight on December 31st, we don’t magically wake up a different person. The more accurate reality would be new year, same you.

This is not to be discouraging. Rather, it’s meant to bring awareness to the fact that true, lasting change comes with consistent practice, not a calendar date.

If you followed our guide for reflecting on the year that just passed, you’ll have an idea of what you’d like to improve upon in the year ahead.

Below is a ritual we like to use to practice living intentionally, rather than reactively.

A Ritual For Setting Intentions

Practice is at the root of living on purpose. Because so many of us have been living in “default mode”, reacting to the world we live in instead of deciding how we want to show up, it requires us to “re-train” ourselves to operate differently.

We’ve gone into detail on how to calm the reactive mind, and overcoming our innate flight or fight mode in a prior post.

Use this ritual to decide how you want to live in the year ahead, and to practice your intentions:

1. Pick a time of day to sit in a quiet place without distractions. We recommend sometime in the morning, so you can set intentions to practice for the day ahead.
2. Write down how you want to feel. Pick 2-3 emotions and describe the experience in your body. For example, describe how it would feel to be calm. Or optimistic. Or joyous.
3. Choosing one emotion at a time, close your eyes and really feel that emotion in your body. Pay attention to the vibration, and practice tapping into it at will.
4. Complete the visualization exercise for all the feelings you want to feel for that day (this is why we recommend focusing on 2-3 at most).
5. Repeat this tapping into and practicing your desired feelings on purpose throughout your day.

This may seem like it’s too simple, just writing down emotions and practicing feeling them. But, when you get to the driving force behind most of the external things humans want to achieve, it always comes down to this one factor: we want to feel a certain way. Or we want to stop feeling a certain way.

Why do we want to lose weight and get healthy at the start of each year? Because we want to feel more attractive, or worthy of love, or proud of ourselves.

Why do we want to stop bad habits and destructive behavior? Because we don’t want to feel shame, or anxiety, or depression anymore.

This ritual for setting intentions is less about the external, and more about achieving an internal state first that will allow you to thrive.

Your nervous system doesn’t know the difference between emotion caused by external circumstances, or an emotion that’s been practiced through visualization and creating that emotion within yourself.

Choose how you want to live each day, practice how that feels, and watch as the healthiest, happiest version of you begins to unfold.

Pathwaves NeuroEmpowerment™

NeuroEmpowerment™ is a proprietary method which corrects mental, emotional, and spiritual issues at the same time it corrects physical issues directly associated with psychological function, thus alleviating the root of the problem, rather than treating the symptoms. This is the key for long-term optimal living and quality of life.

If you’d like to learn how you can support your personal growth through our methodology, we are here to help. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation today.

To help those who cannot afford the services of Pathwaves, consider donating to the Pathwaves Foundation. Please call (305) 858-6616 for more information.