New Year, New Start - The power of the pause

It’s January and as if by magic our thoughts instantly turn to “New Year, New Start”.  As the promise of this blank canvas unfolds, we wonder if this year will be the one that changes our life.  There’s only one drawback and believe it or not, it’s neurological.

As Rick Hanson explains in his book, Buddha's Brain, negativity sticks like Velcro whilst positivity slips away like Teflon, but what does this mean for our shiny New Year plans?

Above all else, human beings are survivors.  This is the priority for our bodies and brain.  The side effect is that we're hard wired neurologically to notice the negative aspects of our experience, so when it comes to finding a new career, a new company or even a new partner, quite often we hone in on what we don't want.  In our desperation to escape a negative experience, we may find a solution but we're not prepared to look too closely at it.  Then once the excitement of the change dies down, we're back in a similar position.

Whilst this approach to our life experiences is completely normal, we're only working with the negative half of the picture.  To get a more balanced view, we have to dig deep to consider what we actually want.  So how can we uncover that?

Firstly, the easy bit!  Bring to mind the situation you are struggling with and make a brain dump of all of the things you don't like.  Consider how you feel when you first wake up and how you feel when you're in the situation.  What aspects of it hang around long after it needs to?  Don't filter it, just get it all out on paper.

Secondly, find yourself a comfortable position, close your eyes and tune into the breath for five minutes.  Use counting to three or four or make the in breath and out breath the same length as this will settle the nervous system.   

Now dig deep.  Ask yourself how you want to feel and allow the words to flow onto the page.  Visualise the experience of feeling this way, for example, how does it feel to be acknowledged, valued, calm etc?

Use the positive outcome to visualise your perfect match, whether this is a relationship or a career choice.  Bring it to life through images, sounds and feelings.

Now you're a step closer to knowing what you're searching for, the odds of finding it greatly increase.  You also have a list of the negative and positive aspects of your search, a list you can use to sense check your ideas. 

Happy New Year 

Julie Perrigo is the author of the amazon best seller The Emotional Hustle.