Are you one of those people who can’t seem to move past their New Year’s resolutions until the second week of January? Read on! This is for you! To be able to make real and lasting changes in your life, you need to understand that it is beyond changing habits and switching up your environment.

I totally get it. I can’t even count how many New Year’s resolutions I have set just to scrap them when the third week of January comes. Notice how we often treat them as resolutions — wanting to be a completely different person.

Year after year, we set resolutions after resolutions, and we end up feeling like crap when we don’t achieve them. I was just starting my business back in 2019 when it hit me: resolutions are not for me! And being a perfectionist and procrastinator didn’t help either.

Going through this journey was not the easiest thing to do. Let me share with you the truth on why New Year’s resolutions just don’t work out.

You are in control of your identity.

You have no one but yourself to blame for how you identify yourself. Are you happy? Broke? Dreaming of big things? Afraid of changes? Remember that your identity is not set in stone. Take back that power and be the change you want to see.

I used to use my identity as an excuse. These things are playing a role in my lack of success. I decided that I will stop declaring crap. Instead, I will start changing who I say I am.

The 5 Levels of Change

To have real and lasting change, you must first understand the 5 levels in which change has to take place.

The first level of change is behavior. It is where habits live, your day-to-day life, and what you do. While it is true that you should target the behavior because this is what affects what you do, it goes so much deeper than that. People change their habits — and then that’s it! They don’t stick with the changed behavior.

The second level is changing your environment. It can be the physical environment around you or simply what you consume. Most people might not be aware that things like social media, the people around you, and the content you consume are considered an environment.

Now, this third level is what most people don’t dare to go to. It’s changing one’s beliefs. These are the things that you tell yourself in which you believe are true. There is a fine line between beliefs and truths. Beliefs are what is true to you, and truth is for everyone. Ask yourself, “Is  this true for everyone or is it just true to me?”

We go to the next level which is value. It is the driving force for all these changes to be sustainable. You have to value it to stick to the change you want to make.

The last level is your identity. You cannot create real and lasting change in any tangible way until you change what comes after “I am”. So, make all the sweeping declarations that you want.

I hope this helps!

It would be amazing if you shared what you do to stick with the changes you want to make in your life. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re still in the process and it’s definitely okay to set new goals.

If you’re interested to know more about this, you can check out my podcast. Listen to the podcast episode here. Stick around and explore the other episodes!