A Radically New (And Far Better) Way to Make New Year’s Resolutions

Written by Barbara Huson

The ritual begins, for me, right around Christmas. I find myself wondering about the coming year. Indeed, as I write, 2022 looms before me like a blank canvas. And I ask myself—how do I want to fill it?

Thus begins the Annual Writing of My New Year’s Resolutions. I suspect many of you may be doing the same.

We do it even though we know that New Year’s Resolutions rarely bear fruit. Most of us (80%) give up by the second week in February.

So this year, I’m approaching my Resolution Ritual quite differently. I’ve discovered a better way to bring my dreams and goals into reality. I invite you to join me.

Consciousness Raising While Holiday Shopping

Written by Barbara Huson

Tis the season to be spending. But splurging on presents is like binging at the buffet. Fun at first, but afterwards, you feel awful!

Let me suggest a simple tip to control your spending, without turning into a tightwad: Track your expenses.

Every time you buy anything—a gift, a latte or a mani/pedi—jot down the item and the amount…at the time of purchase. Otherwise, receipts pile up and it feels overwhelming.

Believe me, tracking is not just for those with limited means. Tracking is a powerful consciousness raising, potentially life changing tool. It reveals a lot more than where you can shave and save.

A Spiritual Approach for Scary Times

Written by Barbara Huson

I’ve been turning to A Course in Miracles a lot more these days. I may not be able to control current events, but, as the Course constantly reminds me, I can train my mind to control how I react to them.

This teaching has come in quite handy during the pandemic. Miraculously, in the midst of all the madness, I’ve managed to find serenity.

“Your ability to redirect your thinking,” the Course exclaims, “is the most powerful device that was ever given you for change.”

The ability to redirect your thinking is based on what the Course calls “the most important concept that exists in the universe:” The Law of Cause and Effect. The Course explains this law very differently from the world’s Newtonian version.

To the world, a cause is an external incident which produces an internal effect. The market crashes (cause) and you panic (effect). Your boss complains (cause) and you get upset (effect).

Navigating the Chaos of Uncertainty

Written by Barbara Huson

I once saw a cartoon of a frog leaping from one lily pad to another. There’s a look of sheer terror on her face as she realizes she’s about to miss the lily pad. The caption read: Just when you think you’ve made ends meet, someone moves an end.

I suspect that millions of people are feeling a lot like that. Maybe you’re one of them. Poised midair between the old and the new, wondering “What do I do now?”

Welcome to the Age of Massive Uncertainty. The pandemic has played havoc with our lily pads. The present is unfamiliar. The future is unpredictable. Your sense of security is shattered. It feels like nothing’s happening, you’re going nowhere.

Many will do anything to avoid uncertainty. As humans, we yearn for the certainty of solid ground. We’ll numb our anxiety with alcohol or overwork. Or rush head-first into a new job, another relationship.

Yet uncertainty has a powerful purpose. It’s not an empty time. It’s a fallow time, a moratorium, a vital phase in the transition process.

Using Failure to Achieve Greatness

Written by Barbara Huson

Did you hear about the MBA program offering a course on how to fail? Students are graded on how they handle setbacks in class projects. Classmates are encouraged to boo presentation they don’t like. Guest speakers recount stories of personal failures.

Why aren’t there more courses like that? As inventor Charles Kettering noted, “Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world.”

Failure, an art??? Not in today’s world! With the emphasis on productivity, failure must be avoided at all costs.

How shortsighted. Trying to avoid messing up is a sure path to mediocrity. But those aiming for Greatness never shy away from possible defeat.

Henry Ford, Colonel Sanders, Walt Disney all went broke at least once before amassing millions. Lincoln lost 7 elections before becoming president. Einstein flunked math. Babe Ruth struck out 1330 times, more than any other major league player. Elvis Presley was fired from the Grand Ole Opry.

Professionally Successful – Financially Strapped! Oh My!

Written by Barbara Huson

On the outside, she had it all together. A successful entrepreneur who made loads of money, dressed exquisitely, and lived in luxury.

But every morning she woke up feeling like “there’s ground glass in my gut.” Under her polished veneer, she was drowning in debt.

“I am making good money, but I have nothing to show for it,“ she told me. “I’m broke but nobody knows it.”

Our successful entrepreneur represents a raging epidemic—people who are professionally successful but financially strapped.

Most experts advocate budgeting as the best solution. But she had tried repeatedly to follow a budget, only to fail miserably.

The truth is, will power alone is never enough to stop compulsive behaviors. Because money isn’t the problem, but a symptom of something deeper.

How I Rewired My Brain for Higher Earnings…without even realizing I was doing it.

Written by Barbara Huson

Here’s a revealing exercise. How would you complete the sentence: I’d love to make more money, but_______________.

You probably came up with some perfectly good reasons why you can’t: “I’m too old. I’m too young. I don’t have time. I have little kids. I don’t want to work that hard.”

Your reasons may feel rational. But they are not the truth. They are simply deep-seated beliefs, messages you repeatedly heard growing up that have become deeply embedded in your brain.

These beliefs, far more than any external factors, are the reason you’re stuck in underearning. Whenever you attempt to do something contrary to your beliefs, your brain screams bloody murder: “Stop! Don’t go there! Danger! Danger!”

When You Encounter an Obstacle, Don’t Forget to Say Thank You!

Written by Barbara Huson

In my book Sacred Success, I issue a warning: When you commit to Greatness, everything unlike itself will come up to be healed. Life gets in the way. Obstacles arise. Shit happens. Breakdowns occur.

To the masses, obstacles are like ticking time bombs, something to quickly defuse or avoid altogether.

But for those pursuing Greatness, obstacles are doorways to healing and growth. What seems to get in the way is the way to transformation.

“Trials are but lessons that you failed to learn presented once again.” A Course in Miracles tells us, “So where you made a faulty choice before you can now make a better one and thus escape all pain that what you chose before has brought you.”

Difficulties are not diversions from Greatness but proof of dysfunctional patterns that are, thankfully, being brought into awareness so you can correct them. These patterns are precisely what’s been preventing you from achieving Greatness.

Practicing Radical Self-Acceptance

Written by Barbara Huson

All my life, I’ve been a self-improvement junkie. Show me a seminar touting personal growth and it was like throwing raw meat to a ravenous lion. I’d hungrily pounce on it.

But then life went into lockdown, removing a myriad of distractions. That’s when I noticed something disturbing—how brutally critical I am of me. This wasn’t a new insight, of course, but I began to see how awful it felt.

So, I made a conscious decision. Rather than pushing myself to improve, I decided to practice Radical Self-Acceptance, loving myself, warts and all…especially the warts.

Don’t get me wrong. I still aspire to be better. But I’m finding a remarkable sense of freedom and well-being as I learn to fully embrace my shortcomings and my strengths, my achievements and my failures, without fear or false humility, without shame or recrimination.

Overcoming Financial Paralysis

Written by Barbara Huson

I was newly divorced, raising 3 daughters, when I got tax bills for over $1m. My ex was responsible, but he left the country…leaving me with very little in the bank. My father refused to lend me the money. I was angry and terrified. I had no choice. I had to get smart about money.

I tried going to classes, reading books, but nothing made sense. I felt immobilized. Nowhere in those books or classes could I find a solution for my paralysis. Until I took matters in my own hands.

I stopped focusing on the practical mechanics of money and started plumbing the deepest recesses of my psyche. Writing in my journal proved profoundly revealing.

I became aware of a familiar voice that kept telling me how stupid I was. Instead of ignoring it or letting it hold sway, as I always did, I began a dialogue with that voice, asking it where it came from and what it wanted.

I immediately heard my father telling me, often and in no uncertain terms, that managing money was a man’s job. As a woman, I did not have what it took to deal with finances.

So of course, I was terrified that if I tried to take charge, I’d botch things badly, blow it all.

Women & Power

A Radically New (And Far Better) Way to Make New Year’s Resolutions

Consciousness Raising While Holiday Shopping

A Spiritual Approach for Scary Times

Navigating the Chaos of Uncertainty

Using Failure to Achieve Greatness

Professionally Successful – Financially Strapped! Oh My!

How I Rewired My Brain for Higher Earnings…without even realizing I was doing it.

When You Encounter an Obstacle, Don’t Forget to Say Thank You!

Practicing Radical Self-Acceptance

Overcoming Financial Paralysis

Meet Barbara Huson

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