Don't Believe the Hype!

CHICKS ROCK! is happy to have Kristina back as a guest blogger this week:

Kristina Leonardi is the founder of The Women’s Mosaic. She is a career/life path consultant, speaker, seminar leader and expert in the areas of women, diversity and personal growth.

Contact her at kleonardi@mindspring.com by January 15th for a special discount on her one-on-one consultation services so she can help get you on the right track.


Happy New Year! How ya doin' with those resolutions so far? There is so much hype and pressure around making huge life changes and setting goals starting January 1st that it's easy to feel utterly defeated when we don't succeed that first week, and therefore just give up. Yes, it’s the beginning of a new calendar year, so the world likes to make this time far more momentous than I believe it deserves. After an intense holiday period of excess and socialization, it is unrealistic for you to turn on a dime and start things completely fresh, especially if they are habits that you've had for 20 or 30 years! Change and growth do not happen overnight.

As we go through our lives, there are various cycles that affect us, with many opportunities for new beginnings that occur in more authentic ways, and are further in line with where we are at in life at any given moment. January is a particularly good time, though, to review the past year and to think about and understand the changes you want to make going forward - get reflective and go inward to see what’s out of balance, what direction you want to go in and what small adjustments you want to make in your daily life to be more fulfilled. True change can only happen after you've made an internal shift and the inner work that you do is just as valuable as the external results you desire.

The important thing to remember is that life is a process. Be true to who you are and take one day at a time knowing what is best for you and your goals - and don't beat yourself up if you don't make this first week or month the picture of perfection you envisioned on Dec. 31st. Setting a timeline and internal clock that is in harmony with YOU will be much more effective - and that will be something to celebrate at any time of the year!