Here it is, the first week of January! The time to get at it and start, or restart, healthy habits. Your clients will typically set resolutions that require immediate action – go to the gym, eat more vegetables, cut back on fast food. Even when they set SMART goals for their desired behaviours, change is often challenging and not sustainable. Encourage your clients to experiment with a different approach with patience and curiosity. Teach them self-awareness techniques that help them understand why these behaviours have been difficult to adopt successfully in the past. If they can tune into and write down the thoughts that go through their mind when they think about these challenging behaviours they may discover the unconscious barriers that exist. Therefore, the first step in the new year is to address these barriers. Stress that this is a major accomplishment in and of itself and will enable the client to more successfully achieve their resolution.