Yesterday, I wrote about making Valentine’s Resolutions.  And, if you are on board with me, you defined the change you want to make in order to move toward living a life you love.  Merely clarifying your goal and phrasing it in positive language gets the ball rolling.  Suddenly, your energy shifts and you are eager to make your intention a reality.  I hope that is so for you.  The next step is to identify the benefits of making the change.   What compelling reason do you have for leaping tall buildings in order to get to the new behavior or new way of being?  If, for example,  you strive to become more accepting and forgiving and someone pushes your buttons, what is in it for you to accept and forgive inspite of your desire to retaliate, strike out, write off, have the last word or whatever your habitual response is? 

Speaking of buttons being pushed, what are some of the things that trigger your old, no longer useful behaviors?  What occurs that causes you to do the things you are trying to change?  What prompts you to be impatient and lose your temper with your kids?  Reach for a cigarette?  Eat large quantities of chocolate?  Identifying the triggers can help you anticipate your old ‘bad behavior’ and gives you a chance to short circuit it by inserting your new more effective action.