Detoxing in the New Year

Detoxing. I’ve had a head cold for two weeks. A friend recently suggested a detox tea (which really helps), yet this “stuff” still has a hold on me. So it is with behaviors and habits and attempts we make to change our lives. While change can be invigorating, it can also be daunting. We can become paralyzed with fear – fears that we won’t be successful, that we will relapse, or that we won’t be strong enough or smart enough to succeed.

Fear saps energy and strangles desire.

So what must we do to get change to “stick?” For me, it seems that my attempts usually begin as halfhearted ones, never quite believing in the possibility of my own success. I need to be desperate, dare I say, hopeless. I need to feel that there is absolutely no other measure I can take before my head will allow me to take action. Only then does determination begin to take hold. With that spurt of resolve, I begin to see hope. I’m not always successful…but I begin. Sometimes I have to begin again and again, and still again.

When remaining in your doldrums and constant state of frustration is no longer something you can “stand,” take the opportunity to begin your plan for change. Detox yourself from those habits that are holding you back. Believe in yourself – and a Higher Power if you are able – and seek the good. Cleanse yourself of unwanted self-talk. Rewrite those words you hear over and over  in your head. Instead of “I am hopeless,” tell yourself “I have hope.” You might even write your own litany of phrases that apply strictly to you. Repeat the words over and over, day after day. Pretty soon, if you are not yet seeing the change, you will begin to feel the change. Go ahead, begin detoxing, and…become the change you want to see!”