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Why new year resolutions don’t stick.
And how to make them…
The new year is an opportune time to wipe away old habits from the mind and write new ones through making resolutions. Thinking about new resolutions is easy, but implementing and sustaining them isn’t easy.
A resolution signals the mind that there is a new and essential task at hand. Hoping that whatever we resolve to undertake will take root and turn into a beneficial habit is like throwing a seed into the wind and hoping it will grow into a tree. It takes time, energy, and persistence, as with anything worthwhile that we set out to do. These three factors work together to overcome a significant hurdle we face — the mind’s paradoxical nature.
The mind shows its restless and fluid nature whenever we concentrate on a new task. But, when we give into old, entrenched habit patterns, the mind shows an entirely different side. It fades into the background and makes it effortless to pursue old habits.
A new resolution arises in the conscious mind, while an old habit rises from the unconscious depths. We cannot easily remove tree roots from the ground, but its leaves can be readily plucked, resolutions come up against old habits, they stand little chance. The ever-present and powerful current of thoughts sweeps away resolutions. Since habit patterns have deep roots, they…
