What if a self development tool can replace New Year's resolutions?

By Lori Hammond

Coach and Professional Hypnotist. Giving you simple tools to stop overwhelm and harness joyful forward momentum.

A few years ago I started noticing more and more people saying, "New Year's Resolutions are dumb!"

 

At first I was offended. 

 

As a chronic, "Start Over On Monday" person I LOVED the idea of starting fresh in the new year.

 

Then I realized that I had "fallen off the wagon"....

 

EVERY

 

SINGLE 

 

TIME

 

I made a New Year's Resolution. 

 

If I could show you an awesome self-development tip that works so much better than New Year's Resolutions, would you be interested? 

 

When Mike Mandel taught me this secret I smirked and thought, "Yeah right" because it seemed way too simple. 

 

Then I heard a bunch of Mike's students talk about how this teeny tiny trick had transformed their entire year. 

 

Here's how it works...

 

ONE WORD

 

Choose a word of the year. 

 

Keep it simple. 

 

In a minute I'll walk you through a fun way to choose your word.

 

This will be my 4th Word Of The Year and I'll share my previous 3 so you can learn from my experience. 

 

In 2018 I chose "EFFECTIVE" as my word of the year.

 

I had just read the book, The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and I wanted to do stuff that actually mattered in my business instead of spinning my wheels and doing busy work that never got me anywhere. 

 

That one word, EFFECTIVE, gave me an easy way to choose what I said yes or no to. 

 

Every time you say yes to one thing, you say no to something else.

 

EFFECTIVE, helped me make better yes/no choices. 

 

In 2019 my word was ADVENTURE! 

 

It sounds exciting but it was actually a big fat disaster. 

 

I forgot to specify what kind of adventure I wanted and the Universe had a blast sending me all kinds of adventures I didn't want. 

 

In hindsight, I realize that those adventures brought me to a really amazing place but they sure did stink while I was going through them. 

 

In 2020 my word was PRESENCE. 

 

Oh my goodness, I'm so grateful I chose that word. 

 

I'm not sure there's anything more powerful or life changing in the whole wide world than being present. 

 

I would love to say that I remembered to be present every day. 

 

Shoot, I'd love to say I remembered 20% of the time!

 

That's the great thing about the word of the year. 

 

It's not an all or nothing thing. 

 

When you choose the word of the year, you tell your unconscious mind, 

 

"This is what I want. Will you remind me throughout the year?"

 

The times I did remember it let me notice...

 

...the smell of my grand-daughter's head as she slept against my chest...

 

...the sound of my daughter's laugh while we watched Netflix during lockdown...

 

...the feeling of connection with a client as a big, crocodile tear rolled down her face in a moment of release from pain.

 

I'm not telling you what your word should be, but I've just decided that I'm going with PRESENCE again this year. 

 

Here are 3 steps to choosing your word of the year. 

 

STEP 1: Think about that ridiculous New Year's Resolution you were about to make. Vividly imagine that it's December 31, 2021 and you NAILED IT! You accomplished the goal and you're reaping all the benefits of success. 

 

Let yourself dream really big here!

 

When you have this , what does it give you? 

 

Does it give you peace? Freedom? Joy? Relief? Health? Vitality?

 

Your answer to this question might just be your word of the year. 

 

STEP 2: Close your eyes, sit up straight, and take a deep breath. Try on that word. 

 

Speak it out loud (unless someone is sitting next to you and they'll think you're crazy). 

 

How does that FEEL?

 

If you like it, keep it.

 

If it's not super duper awesome, try on a different word. 

 

Remember, keep it simple. Trust your intuition. 

 

You ARE doing it right. 

 

STEP 3: Install your word. 

 

Again, this is easier than you think.

 

Close your eyes and let your body relax. 

 

Say, "My word of the year is _____. Unconscious mind, will you keep this word at the front of my mind in 2021? Please help me remember ____"

 

Then just pretend it worked! 

 

Trust your unconscious to make it happen. 

 

Bonus points for writing your word down and sticking it in your sock drawer. 

 

You may forget to consciously look at it...

 

...and your unconscious notices it every time you grab socks. 

 

Every time you notice yourself thinking, "What was my word of the year?" that's your unconscious reminding you. You'll be aware of all the times you've been more ____ in 2021.

 

Love,

Lori