Why New Year's Resolutions Don't Work—and What Does

Nearly a month into the New Year and nothing has changed.

Now, you're cursing yourself for even thinking this was your year, that things could be different, that your circumstances or perspectives could change for the better.

If this sounds familiar, rest assured that this is totally normal for most. You're not cursed. The lack of change is not a result of having not exerted enough effort. You just aren’t going about that change in the right way.

Do you want to know the secret to real change?

Mindset.

✨What you believe about yourself and the world around you creates your entire reality.✨

Having grown up in an abusive home where I was consistently told that I was a bother and a burden and should have never even been born, I internalized beliefs of inherent unworthiness.

I went into the world as a young women believing that I was “broken,” that I had to earn love, but that it was conditional on performing as I was expected to, regardless of my personal comfort with doing so.

Despite tremendous educational and professional potential, I denied myself opportunities or sabotaged them altogether because I didn’t feel “enough” of whatever I thought I was supposed to be to succeed.

It wasn’t until I went no contact with my mother and stepfather, ended my twenty-five-year-long relationship with my abusive first husband, and lost multiple sides of family for speaking my truth about it all, that I was finally left without all that negative influence. Surrounded only by the few people who truly loved me, then, I was much more aware of the positive and supportive words that were spoken to me and about me. My mood was lighter as a result. My own ideas about myself began to transform from that of having been “broken” to being “affected.” Eventually, I identified as someone who was “healing” from an unfortunate past.

Do you see the difference between “broken” and “healing”?

“Broken” sounds definitive. It doesn’t allow for change. It’s static and unyielding, never mind deprecating and diminishing.

“Healing,” on the other hand, gives space for learning, growth, and evolution. It represents a process with all the ebbs and flows and backs and forths. It’s what truly represents the human experience, when you open yourself up to the idea that no one is perfect and no one comes here knowing it all.

The biggest aspect of changing your mindset is creating this honest relationship with yourself, wherein you understand what you believe about yourself and why. When you “get” where your beliefs are sourced, then you can begin to reframe them to suit the current and future version of yourself who would benefit from better self-perception.

That perception then seeps into your spoken and written language, your self-expression, your personal and professional relationship dynamics, and, before you know it, you’re the person you always wanted to be but never knew how to embody; and once you embody that higher version of yourself, you can begin to work with the subconscious beliefs blocking your personal and professional aspirations, emotional and physical wellness, financial goals, and overall success and stability.

Let’s be real, though—no one changes their life that fast. But you have to start somewhere. So, choose to start today. Choose to take that first step towards the better version of yourself and the better life that awaits you.

Because you never know how long you have until your time is up, so make every second count.

💗For more information about your subconscious beliefs and how they affect your life, watch my latest episode of SHIFTING GEARS LIVE with Dana S. Diaz, where special guest Christine Peine explains the complexities of this life-altering craft.

➡️You can also begin your journey with my JUMPSTART program—a self-guided 5-module course that gets you back on track towards the life you truly want—for less than a lunch or dinner out: https://shiftinggears.danasdiaz.com