Imagine that today you walked out to get your mail and in the mailbox was a letter from your future self. (OK since this is 2017, maybe you received it via email.)

You open the letter and find that your future self wrote about the things you accomplished in 2017, the things you changed about yourself. What would you like the letter to say?

Is making resolutions is a setup for failure?

According to research, around 50% of the population makes resolutions. And other research shows that only between 8% and 20% of people who make resolutions actually keep them.

So why are resolutions so hard to keep? I mean, you really want to lose weight, get out of debt, exercise more, start a business, fill in the blank, right?

It may be that you really don’t want to change. Or perhaps you set unrealistic goals. But it could be more than that.

Maybe it is a limiting belief or fear that stops you.

I am reminded of a book called “Who moved my cheese?“ by Dr. Spencer Johnson. The book revolves around four characters, two mice and two little people about the size of mice, who live in a maze and have found a huge source of cheese. The cheese is really a metaphor for what each wants in life — money, happiness, a good job, relationships, etc. When the source of the cheese diminishes, the story describes how each of the characters deal with this change in their life. The mice who did not over analyze the situation, fared well. The little people with emotions, such as fear and anxiety and beliefs that limit them, find they struggle.

One of the questions posed in the book is What would you do if you were not afraid?

Think about this question.

What would YOU do if you were not afraid?

So pretend that it is December 31, 2017. Act as if you have already achieved your goals. Notice where you are, what you are doing. Notice your posture. Notice what you are saying to yourself. Now notice how you are feeling as if you have already achieved your goals. Now write that letter from your future self and then read it.

What is one small thing that you can do today to help you to achieve your goal? Take a little step. If you are already feeling stuck, you may need help to discover what is blocking you.

Maybe you don’t know how to change.

Many times people try to change on a conscious level and don’t understand why they are not successful. Just like the little people in the book, emotions and beliefs can get in the way of making lasting change. Maybe the anxiety or fear is just too great. Or a limiting belief, which you may or may not be aware of consciously, holds you back. While some people are aware that they have limiting beliefs, many people are not. You just know that you feel stuck. Limiting beliefs run us at the unconscious level and many times were formed early in life.

Some examples of limiting beliefs:

• I’m not good enough

• I don’t deserve - fill in the blank; happiness, success, love, etc.

• I'll only be liked if I please people which leads you to say yes at times when you really want to say no.

• I am a failure

Are you aware of a belief that is holding you back from achieving your goals? Or negative emotions that are getting in the way?