Every New Year’s, the topic of resolutions comes up. It is the time of year when people are fired up and optimistic about achieving their goals. I hear friends powerfully proclaim, “I want to lose ten pounds,” or “I want to get out of debt.” I even heard one friend say, “I hope that this year Uncle Bob isn’t a pain in everyone’s neck at the family reunion.” One thing that all of these resolutions or goals have in common is that they’re going to produce more of what these people don’t want in their lives.

Our subconscious is designed to help us achieve whatever we put our attention on. To make the statement “I want to lose ten pounds” true, you always have to be wanting to lose and never achieving. A better way to describe the desired outcome that you want is to say with gratitude: “I am so grateful that I have a physically fit, trim, toned, and energetic body that is pain-free and easily able to go on walks with my family and friends. We have so much fun together!” With a goal like this, your subconscious and your intuition are going to show up more often — and in more obvious ways — to point you toward steps you can take to make those statements true.

Our words are powerful tools that help us to receive whatever we describe. Unfortunately, we often give voice to what we don’t want instead of what we do want, and then we’re surprised and disappointed with the results. For example, I know a saleswoman who says things like, “I really hope that I’m not late for my appointment with ABC Company on Tuesday. They are a huge potential customer, and I don’t want them to buy from my competitor.”