How are You Preparing for the New Year?

j0433093 Invitations for holiday parties call for closing out the old year and ringing in the new. I’m looking forward to attending a few holiday parties this season, but I don’t consider those as preparation for my new year.

It’s a common practice to make New Year’s Resolutions in January but it’s also common that few people follow through with their resolutions.

Why is this so, and what can we do that will bring about better results?

When Denise Dyer, a spiritual life coach, was a guest on my Dec. 14th radio show she pointed out that resolutions are doomed to fail because they focus on problems. We often begin them with “I need. . .” instead of affirming and committing to the changes we want to take place in our lives. (If you missed this episode you can listen to it here.)

Denise continued by giving her formula for success: Inner work + outer work= success. As long as we come from a place of lack and try to impose changes from the outside, we are doomed to lackluster results.
If you want to make changes in your life for 2010, in fact, it’s essential to do the inner work to prepare for those changes now.

Janet Conner, author of Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within, laid out a December plan for her readers that consciously prepares us to receive the good we want. She believes that it’s not enough to just state what we want. We must be ready to receive. To get ready involves a number of activities and shifts in consciousness. Although we’re already mid-December, it’s not too late to benefit from the activities that Conner proposes. Visit her December 1st blog post and catch up.

We’ve all heard many versions of John 16: 24 “. . .ask, and ye shall receive. “ I’d like to reword this saying with my own understanding, “Ask believing and in readiness, and ye shall receive.”

In my book, Color Your Life Happy, I share the importance of creating and repeating affirmations, but only to the level at which we can believe that we can receive what we want. Wishing for a million dollars, for example, is not of much use if you can’t visualize yourself having even $100,000.

As I prepare for the new year, I’m adapting Conner’s December preparation, which parallels some of the activities many religions complete during Advent season. The key components of my preparation are:

1. Setting aside time daily to be still and reflect on my many blessings.
2. Expressing gratitude for the blessings of ideas, people and experiences I’ve enjoyed this year
3. Forgiving others and myself
4. Drawing a picture on a December calendar of something I want in 2010.
5. Listening more deeply to my inner voice

What are you doing to prepare for the new year?