Perfect Breathing

Now that you’ve cleaned up the confetti and champagne bottles, thrown out the cheese log, and dragged that dried up tree to the curb, it’s time to look ahead to the coming year and the new you/new life you’ve imagined. While most people’s hopes and dreams for the New Year meet the same fate as their Christmas tree, it doesn’t have to be that way. There are a couple of simple things you can do to keep your resolutions from being overtaken by the realities of daily life and modern living.

First: Write down your goals in as much detail as you can. Whatever your goal, write down every detail and how it will change your life. How will you feel? What will you do differently? How will it affect your daily life and routine? The clearer your vision, the greater your chances for success!

Second: Set aside 5 minutes every day to revisit your written goals. Sit in a comfortable chair, read through what you’ve written, then close your eyes, take a minute to slow your breathing, and visualize the new you and your new life. This is an amazingly powerful exercise. If you haven’t read Maxwell Maltz’s “Psycho-Cybernetics”, this would be a good time. It will help you unlock the power of your mind and help you with all your goals.

Third: Break down your big goals into small goals. Try to identify one small thing you can do everyday to move toward your goals. It could be as simple as a phone call, or getting some information from the internet. The mistake that most people make is not breaking their goals down, and they become intimidated and immobilized by the seemingly huge goal or challenge that faces them. Find one small thing you can do every day that will move you closer to the prize!

Fourth: Find a way to revisit your goals as often as you can during the day. Daydream about them. Maltz found that this type of activity programs your subconscious like a goal-seeking missile. If you constantly remind your subconscious of the goal, it will be working day and night to move you in that direction.

At Perfect Breath (Blog) we use reminders as a way to help people develop breath awareness – things like notes on the bathroom mirror or refrigerator, or reminders in your calendar, phone, or PDA. Try stopping for a few seconds a few times during the day, closing your eyes, taking a few slow deep breaths and visualize your goals.

By keeping your goals fresh in your mind every day and combining that with small daily steps toward your goal, it will only be a matter of time until you have arrived at your destination. Don't be discouraged if you fall off for a while or things are taking longer than you had hoped. Keep at it! Persistence always wins.

If you take these simple steps to heart you will be amazed at what you have accomplished when it comes time to pop the champagne corks again next year!

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Don Campbell and Al Lee are the authors of Perfect Breathing: Transform Your Life One Breath At A Time (Sterling Publishing/2008) and write, speak, train, and blog tirelessly on the subject. Discover more ways you can improve your health, performance, and wellbeing at www.perfectbreathing.com. Reach them at info [at] perfectbreathing [dot] com or call 1-888-317-6718 (toll-free).