Written by: Christine Deschemin, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The new year is right around the corner, and for many of us, it seems to brim with possibility. The new year brings the possibility of a fresh start and the opportunity to make powerful changes in your life. As you emerge from the shells of the old year like a butterfly from a chrysalis, renewed and ready to glow.
Unfortunately, even when we know what we want to change, implementing those changes can be tough. That is why so many New Year’s Resolutions fail often before January has faded into February. The momentum that propelled us towards a thrilling rebirth and renewal slows, our energy declines, and we lose focus. As our motivation slows, our vision blurs. We give up.
A break can give you clarity for your goals and give you the energy to reach them. This year, it is time to start anew with new goals and a new plan to bring those big changes into your life.
The Truth about Resolutions
Making a resolution is a popular tradition. As the old year fades and midnight nears, we think of the things we want to accomplish and promise ourselves that this time will be different. We make plans and goals. We want to exercise more, lose weight, or get more sleep. Maybe you want to work towards a promotion, be more proactive about self-care, or spend more time with your family.
If you are like most people, your stated intentions might be fairly vague, and you may know in the back of your mind that the odds of achieving them are low. People have been making some version of the New Year’s Resolution for about 4,000 years, and they have been breaking them for about the same amount of time. Fewer than 10 percent of people are believed to keep their resolutions every year. Why is the success rate so low?
For one thing, many of us set intentions that are simply too broad in scope. Exercising more sounds great, but narrowing it down to “taking a walk every day after work” creates a specific and achievable goal. Additionally, unwanted behaviors can be difficult to change while new habits can be tough to incorporate. This is not because of any failure on your part but rather a feature of your brain, which is why willpower is just not enough to manage your struggles.
Partnering with Your Mind to Effect Real Change
Is willpower enough to diet? Is it enough to add an extra walk to your day? Is it enough to quit smoking? For some of us, it might be. For most of us, however, willpower is simply overrated. Research indicates that willpower is fragile at best because so much of our behavior is dominated not by conscious choice but by our subconscious minds.
Habits reside deep inside our brains in the basal ganglia and brainstem. When you initiate a new behavior, the brain works hard to process new information and deploy the correct actions in the correct order to complete the actions properly. Think about what happens when you get a drink. You do not simply reach out and drink water. Instead, you must go through many detailed steps before you can finally enjoy that cool, refreshing water. Your brain, however, creates shortcuts, embedding the habit deep in your mind to reduce how much energy needs to go into thinking about the process.
The same happens with other behaviors. Whether you are struggling with mindless snacking, or smoking, your mind is keeping you on a sort of mental autopilot. When you learn to partner with your mind, you can unlock new hacks to effect real, lasting change. UpNow can give you the tools you need to flip the narrative, take control of your mindset, and leave your unwanted behaviors in the past.
Adding Hypnosis to Your Self-Care Routine
Much like it would be difficult to change the steps in getting a drink of water, it is also difficult to break certain behavior chains without help. This is where digital hypnotherapy can help. UpNow helps you partner with your mind to unravel the mental network supporting unwanted behavior and can help you incorporate healthier and more positive behaviors. UpNow can reduce the mental load involved in thinking through each step of a new behavior, helping you change not the behavior but the thought processes underlying those behaviors.
With UpNow helping you create the foundation of your new routine, you can begin to build new self-care habits that strengthen and support your commitment to your wellness. Our program can calm and relax you while helping you embrace the life you want and deserve. Self-guided digital hypnotherapy sessions from our UpNow app can guide you. Learn more today at UpNow.com or get started by downloading our app.
Christine Deschemin, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Christine Deschemin is a certified hypnotherapist and founder of the Renewed Edge Hypnotherapy Centre in Hong Kong. With a keen interest in resilience, she leverages her experience as an athlete and as a former engineer and banker in high-stress environments with her executive and sports clients. In March 2020, she released the UpNow hypnosis app to bring the benefits of self-hypnosis to the fingertips of anyone in need. The self-hypnosis downloads can be accessed online and offline to make mental health aids very affordable.
In addition to her many scholastic achievements, Christine Deschemin has a Master of Science from the Ecole Polytechnique (France) and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is fluent in four languages.
