All perception is subjective. That is why we make our own reality.
A new year is upon us. Amidst the recovery from the holidays ~ whether it was too many people or too much loneliness or too much sugar or too much alcohol or too much stimulation or too much spending or too much grieving or too much eating or All of the Above and More.. and now me touting that you can make your own reality…ahhhhh!! It’s enough to at minimum create some overwhelm and at maximum a real struggle to join in the Rejuvenation of a new year.
Let’s start with that. This notion of a “new year”. The first calendar that divided a year into 12 months was created in 3100 B.C. Then much later, in 1752 the legal new year was changed from March 25th to January 1st. Also there is ongoing consideration given to creating a 13-month calendar.
My point?
Even this idea of the new year is made up! Julius Caesar wanted the change made, and so he created a new reality for all of us, making January 1st the dawn of each new year.
So what does this mean for you? If you’re growing familiar with my work, you know that I utilize neuroscience as a cornerstone of my healing practices. When changes are imposed externally, such as the calendar change, daylight savings, a job schedule, etc. we make adjustments as we must. But often, left to our own devices, we rely on motivation levels, which inevitably rise and fall. The mind can be almost surprisingly resistant to change. So what we must create are new habits, and these new habits must be approached systematically for the brain to make sustainable shifts.
So let’s start off “small”. Even that word is a bit of a misnomer in this case, because what may appear “small” will yield exceptional results if you commit to their repetition. Don’t believe the hype that on your own you can make drastic changes and expect them to last. The brain doesn’t work like that. Hopefully you will stick around all year as together we’ll be creating a framework for you to develop new habits and new thought patterns to support them. Ones that will last.
Your assignment: Toss those lofty broad stroke resolutions out the proverbial window. Choose 2 new habits that you can incorporate for 2-5 minutes into your daily routine. JUST 2! Be clear about Why you want to make these changes. What are the end results you plan to achieve? Then begin perceiving yourself as someone who does these things.
For example, perhaps you have wanted to start to meditate. Set aside a 2-minute time for yourself to meditate every day. Before you begin, envision the version of yourself that meditation supports; someone calm, someone able to regulate their emotions, someone who can simultaneously balance the weight of the world and the joy of possibility.
Maybe you want to start journaling as a means of self-expression. Again choose a time and set aside just 2-5 minutes a day to write. Envision yourself as someone who is documenting their journey, who uses writing as catharsis, who is a historian and a deliberate creator of their own story.
Whatever you are committed to making a reality for yourself this year, start “small”. Neural pathways are built over time. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither are your new habits or your new perceptions of self. Slowly but surely, just as nature often works, you grow into your new patterns like an oversized jacket. Every time that you exercise a new habit, even for this short amount of time, you are reinforcing new neural pathways and therefore expanding your mind. And before long, you will grow into this new version of yourself, and your new neural pathways will support your sustainable changes far more than any amount of temporary “motivation” could do.
The year is ripe with possibility. And although it may sometimes be hard to detect, we are always changing. So are you changing in ways that reinforce who you want to be or digging yourself more deeply into who you have been before?
I’d love to spend the year with you, helping to guide the new version of yourself you are becoming. We have so much coming up, from books to events to courses and private healing sessions, all dedicated to upleveling your well being and opportunities for joy and expansion. To get you kickstarted, please accept my new year gift, which asks you: “How Big Is Your But?” It is a transformative book that challenges the limitations we often place on ourselves. I am happy to offer it to you, to nudge you along at the beginning of this new year, to start taking the steps, however “small”, to create a life that you will enjoy living.
So with the energy of this “made up” start of the year, a reality created from one person’s desire, what are you waiting for? At this time next year, you can look back and see how far you’ve come or how much you may regret. The choice is always yours.
I look forward to our life-changing journey this year.
Sir James Gray Robinson
