Prepare. Prevent. Protect.

As the year comes to an end, it’s always a good time to focus on ‘new beginnings’. If you have any negative habit that you’ve been needlessly conforming to, then I want you to make the active decision to leave all of those negative thoughts and feelings behind.

You’ll be thanking yourself for getting rid of the negativity that you surrounded yourself in and, more importantly, the people around you will be thankful that you are in a more positive place.

Some of you may be thinking: “But I don’t know if I can do it!” The simplest way to start is by turning your perspective upside down. Try to engage your life from one that imposes skepticism, self-consciousness and self-doubt to one that embraces positive change. Small steps in mindset are needed in order to make any significant improvements in your life.

Worst comes to worst, fake it ’til you make it! Just let the old habits go like the ball dropping at midnight. Take a deep breath and say goodbye to your self-doubt and your fear of failure. Instead, embrace YOUR desire to change and make the conscious decision to improve. Take the first step towards re-creating your new self.

Sure it’ll take time and of course you’ll meet resistance from everyone involved with your life – yourself included. But, did your “negative habits” NOT meet resistance? Resistance, friction and conflict get such a bad rap, but without them, we would never move forward…or never stop!

Never forget that this life belongs to you. If you love yourself (which, if you don’t, you should make sure to fix that problem first) and respect yourself, then you should protect yourself. After all, you can’t save anyone unless you save yourself first.

Do yourself a favor and make this your year of positive change. Resistance and conflict are a natural, reoccurring part of life. However, if you make the choice to actively diminish the amount of bad habits and negative actions that you partake in life, then making positive changes will eventually become a daily and refreshing event in your everyday. Make your mark!