Happy New Year... again.

With each New Year we experience the thrill of a fresh start and the chance to remake or rekindle a wanting aspect of our life. "It's time for a change," we exclaim, and the resolutions reignite. This week, for example, millions of Americans resolved to improve their health. You might be one of them.

When it comes to making these changes, most of us have a history of failed attempts. Well intentioned resolutions are often difficult to sustain and are soon abandoned. We may begin a new routine with excitement, but with the passage of a few days, weeks or months, we find ourselves returning to familiar patterns of behavior. Why is that? And what will make this year different?

Changing Life Patterns

We tend to view change as one-dimensional. We focus on the new behavior, forcing change into place, but we usually fail to make adjustments in other areas of our life that would help support our decision. As a result, we experience only temporary success with our resolutions- while they are fresh and exciting or when we exert our will power. But, to create lasting change, we must rework our pattern so that all of our life pursuits support one another.

The great news is that you can adopt new behaviors more readily and with a greater likelihood of success. But to do so, you must first understand your "life pattern."

Your "Life Pattern"

When you are at your best and life is flowing smoothly, you are not pursuing many different things all at the same time. Instead you are skillfully shaping the five "spheres" of your life to create a functional, beautiful synthesis of action. These five aspects include your work, your relationships, your health, your spiritual growth and your personal interests. Only by taking a higher point of focus can we grasp the reality that all five spheres are interrelated and cross connected, each to the other. There are no isolated experiences.

You can not enforce a change in one area of your life without also affecting every other aspect. If the five spheres are traveling in harmony (when you pursue conflicting objectives) you will experience conflict, frustration and failure. This is why you need to take a multi-dimensional approach to changing your pattern.

Small Adjustments

When I was learning to ride a unicycle, I learned a lot about balance very quickly. I would experience balanced moments, but they would be fleeting. As I started to fall toward one side, my reaction would be to throw myself forcefully in the opposite direction and, usually, right off the unicycle. It was a painful, but meaningful lesson in overcompensation.

When we experience imbalance in our lives, we often overcompensate by throwing ourselves headlong in another direction. We think that it takes bold, dramatic action to create change. Let's return to the example of health. You resolve to take action. You decide that this year things will be different. And, wanting to accomplish your transformation as soon as possible, you decide to immediately reform your eating habits, visit the gym three times a week, stop smoking, get more sleep, drink more water and train to run a marathon in six months!

Making so many radical adjustments at once is, of course, a recipe for failure. It is unlikely you will be able to execute your well intentioned plan. Even if you did, your exuberance in this area would likely pull you off balance in another direction. I would suggest a different approach. Start with one small adjustment. Make one change you can implement and sustain. Once this takes hold in your life, you will see the impact it has on your overall balance. Building momentum, you can then go further, making other adjustments to continue your progress. Considering the dilemma of suffering health, the first small adjustment might be to begin walking around the block every other morning, to eliminate one specific item from your diet, or to go to bed thirty minutes earlier each night.

Time for Action

1. What one change will you make today that will have an immediate positive benefit on the harmony of your life pattern?
   
2. What adjustments need to happen in all five "spheres" of your life to support your new behavior?
   
3. Take an exciting and positive future view of yourself having made this change. Envision and experience the success you will feel and the multi-dimensional benefits that await you. Get specific by completing these statements: As a result of this change,

My relationships have improved in many ways, including ________________.

I am experiencing improved health, and that means I now __________________.

My spiritual growth has changed because I am now _______________.

I enjoy more of my personal interests, such as ______________.

You now have added motivation and fuel to propel you forward in making this life change a reality. Post these positive benefits where you will see them often, and take the next steps to enlist guidance, information and support to keep you moving in the right direction. Make it happen!