How are your New Year's resolutions going? About two weeks into the new year, there often comes a decisive moment: Do you persevere or let them go? Perhaps I can inspire you to look at your resolutions a bit differently, making it easier to stick to them. In fact, this new perspective might even make you so committed that you wouldn't give them up for anything! Let's see what it takes.

At their core, New Year's resolutions often involve developing new habits and ensuring you don't fall back into old patterns. In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear describes how you can bring about a change in your own behavior. The parallels with the approach of Transformational Presence are striking. Clear suggests that you start by defining your desired identity, in other words, who do you want to be? Do you want to be a reader, for example? Or a musician?

 This identity question contrasts with the more familiar approach of setting a challenging goal (e.g., 'I will read one book per week' or 'I will learn to play the guitar'), which is more about what you will 'do'. Achieving a goal (e.g., losing 10 kg) is often short-term while adopting an identity (I am healthy and fit) is for the long term.

 In other words, 'being' precedes 'doing', just like in Transformational Presence. So, when you look at your own resolution, who do you want to become? Or, put differently, who is the person who effortlessly sticks to your resolution?

 Setting goals focused on 'doing' is not inherently wrong; it is often just not enough. It's about creating a system. According to Clear, goals are the results you want to achieve; systems are the processes that lead to those results. Goals help you set a direction, while systems ensure forward movement.

 Clear suggests that it’s about installing a (small) action that fits with that new identity, your new image of yourself. Suppose you decide that in 2025, you want to be a conscious and healthy-living person. What (small) actions fit that image?

 Maybe you want to meditate for one minute a day or run 100 meters at a stretch. You then consistently perform this new behavior for several weeks. Once it becomes a habit, you can expand it (e.g., to five or ten minutes of meditation) or gradually improve it (building up from running 100 meters to running 2 km at a slightly faster pace).

 The core question is: who do you want to be in 2025? What identity do you wish for yourself? And what small action (lasting no more than 2 minutes) would you like to link to it? An action you perform, for example, 1x, 3x, or 7x a week?

 Create a first, small habit, and be curious about what it will bring you in the new year!

To conclude, a quote from James Clear: 'Your habits are how you embody your identity. The process of building habits is actually the process of becoming yourself.'

 I wish you a wonderful, loving, and, above all, healthy 2025 full of new, small habits!