I was introduced to a phrase this past summer that gets me to reflect more on reality than I do on illusion. The phrase is: “It will be this way until it isn’t.”

Just let that phrase sink in. “It will be this way until it isn’t.”

How often do we find ourselves thinking, “I wish it wasn’t this way”? Answer: “It’ll be this way until it isn’t.”

It’s a reality strategy that prevents us from going off to the land of illusion where we pretend to solve our situations.

The New Year will be here in a matter of days. The ubiquitous resolutions take some form of this statement: “This is the year I will (fill in the blank).”

It’s then that we summon up our weakest runner to get us to the finish line – Willpower.

What if, after you come up with your resolution, and before you sugar high yourself with willpower, you reflect on your resolution with a version of this phrase: “It’ll be this way until it isn’t.”

For example, “I’ll be fat until I’m not.” “I’ll smoke until I don’t.” “I’ll save money from my paycheck every week, unless I don’t.” Rephrase your resolution to include some form of “until it isn’t.”

Many will say, “That’s a defeatist strategy” and they will go down to defeat again doing it the same way that didn’t work before.

“Until it isn’t” opens the door of possibility wider, rather than attempting to go through the narrow doorway we’ve gotten stuck in in the past.

Focusing on reality will present more workable solutions than illusion. When we continually use the same strategy that didn’t work before, that’s the highest form of unfocused lunacy.

“Until it isn’t” gets you focused on reality. The phrase is more than words; it’s a mindset – a new approach.

The traditional resolution focuses on only one way to get to the goal. “Until it isn’t” will open your eyes to more open doors because the doors presented will be real, not figments of your imagination to bump into again. That’s what reality based noticing does – gets us focused on reality.

“Until it isn’t” considers all sides, not just the glitzy one that has failed us in the past. When we consider the whole, we’re looking at reality – the realm of all possibilities, rather than putting all our money on our unlucky number again.

I request that you give “Until it isn’t” a go and see how much farther it takes you.

All the best,

John