Out with the old, in with the new!  That is the promise of a New Year!

As you reflect back on the year that just ended, you often feel you didn’t quite measure up to all of the BIG changes you were going to make.  You tend to look at all the things you didn’t quite accomplish and find yourself not measuring up.

I’ve seen a cute meme frolicking through social media lately…

It goes something like this:  “My goal for 2019 is to accomplish the goals of 2018 which I should have done in 2017 because I promised them in 2016 and planned them in 2015”.

I think I have a few of these on my list!

While making changes in your life can leave you wanting, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Main stream used to teach that it takes 21 days to create a habit – a good habit or a bad one!

Now they say it can take much longer. ~ Ugh!

But 21 days is still a marker in making permanent change.  In her course, 21 Day Brain Detox, Dr. Caroline Leaf teaches “It takes 21 days wire out the toxic and wire in the healthy.”  In other words, it takes 21 days to detox your brain of a toxic thought that keeps you stuck and thus make way for the new habit to take root and change your way of thinking and behaving.  Then it’s all about keeping the momentum in the right direction.

In his book, The Slight Edge, Jeff Olson teaches “Your habits come from your daily activities compounded over time.  And your activities are the result of the choices you make in the moment.  Your choices come from your habits of thought, which comes from the view you have of the world and your place in it- your philosophy.”

I know!  That is a lot of powerful information in one little paragraph.

Let’s break it down:

1. You have a view of life – it’s your philosophy.  It is based on both true beliefs and false beliefs (you probably don’t even know aren’t true)

**Yes, I’m overweight, but it’s all genetic, there is nothing I can do about it**

• From your philosophy, you create habits of thought.  This is what you “automatically” think about – like auto-pilot.

**It’s my genes that keep me fat, not my eating habits.**

• You make choices… ALL DAY LONG… based on your thoughts (thought habits).

**Of course I’ll have dessert, it won’t make any difference and I like it.**

• Your activities are the result of the choices you make in the moment.

**I know I had dessert with lunch, but YES give me some with dinner too!**

• Your habits come from your daily activities compounded over time.

**Oh, yes, I eat dessert with lunch and dinner every day.  But my weight gain is totally genetic.**

A little bit simplistic, and almost laughable, but that is how it works!

Of course genetics play a role in how our bodies work, but…so does what we eat.  Right??

So let’s look at the theory of Dr. Leaf that it takes 21 days to “rewire a toxic thought to a healthy thought”.

Your toxic thoughts are part of your view of life – your philosophy.  YIKES!  All those toxic thoughts, those false beliefs, are shaping your life and your habits!

The simple truth is, if you truly desire to make change in your life, you must start with your thoughts.  Habits form out of our thoughts.  To make or break a habit, it all starts with a thought.