Why Awareness Creates Change More Effectively Than Effort
This year, instead of striving to become someone new, what if the intention was simply to become more aligned, through making simple adjustments? Aligned with your values. Aligned with your body. Aligned with the season of life you are currently in. So much of what we are taught about change is rooted in effort. Try harder. Do more. Push through. And yet, growth that is rooted in pressure rarely lasts. Growth that is rooted in compassion tends to unfold more naturally, with far less resistance.
As January arrives, many of us find ourselves reflecting on the year behind us. We look back at what challenged us, what shaped us, and what we are finally ready to release. At the same time, we look forward, setting intentions for what we hope to create, change, or experience in the year ahead. Often, this takes the form of a New Year’s resolution, a quiet or not-so-quiet declaration that this will be the year things are different. And yet, for many people, those resolutions fade, sometimes more quickly than we would like to admit. If this feels familiar, I want to offer a gentle reframe. The issue is rarely willpower. More often, it is a lack of true connection to that which we are seeking to transmute.
In last year’s January blog, I wrote about the importance of setting intentions, of reflecting on what we want less of, what we want more of, and allowing ourselves to get clear on what we want to embody and call in. That guidance still stands. Setting intentions matters. Awareness matters. Taking time to connect inward matters. This year, however, I want to expand on that foundation.
Because many of us do set intentions. We write them down. We visualize them. We feel inspired by them. And yet, something often happens between intention and outcome. Life intervenes. Old patterns resurface. Energy gets pulled in familiar directions. And without realizing it, we return to the very ways of being we hoped to move beyond. This is not a failure. It is information.
Change rarely happens simply because we want it to. It happens when we are willing to see clearly, not just what we desire, but what has been quietly operating beneath the surface. Sustainable change begins with connection. Real connection. The kind that allows us to see how an old pattern, habit, or way of being has shown up in our lives over time. How it has influenced our energy, our choices, our relationships, and our sense of self. Not to judge it. Not to fix it. Simply to see it.
Alongside connection, compassion must be present. Without compassion, awareness quickly turns into self-criticism. Compassion creates space. It allows us to gently acknowledge when and how something shows up, without shame. It allows awareness to replace autopilot. When connection and compassion work together, change no longer feels forced. It becomes informed and conscious, it just happens naturally, and that is what allows true change to take root.
This is where the idea of transmutation becomes important. To transmute something is to transform it at its core, not by resisting it or trying to overpower it, but by understanding it deeply enough that it no longer needs to remain the same. Awareness is what makes that possible. Rather than attempting to overhaul our lives all at once, real change often unfolds through subtle, meaningful shifts. When we bring awareness to where our energy is being depleted, where we are moving out of habit rather than intention, and where we are saying yes out of obligation rather than alignment, something begins to soften. From that place, clarity emerges. And when the nervous system feels safe, change becomes sustainable.
When intentions are held with care rather than pressure, they stop feeling like rules and start acting like guides. And when awareness leads the way, action no longer needs to be forced. It emerges naturally. This is how your intentions will manifest!
I asked chat GPT (I haven’t named mine yet! LOL) to help me outline this exercise that I created this year for myself. I wanted to share it with you in the most clear way possible in hopes that it will support you in turning your intentions into outcomes in 2026!
AWARENESS EXERCISE
Begin by revisiting the initial steps from last year’s blog, taking a few quiet minutes to reflect on the past year and identifying what you want less of, and what you want more of. Write these intentions down, allowing clarity to form without judgment.
Step One: Choose One Thing You Are Ready to Let Go Of
Select a single pattern, state, or way of being that feels complete or ready to shift.
Example:
I am letting go of running around and feeling overwhelmed.
I am letting go of expending my energy in places that are not useful.
Step Two: Bring Awareness to Where This Shows Up
Gently review the areas of your life where this pattern is present and where energy may be expended without much reward.
Examples may include:
daily to-do lists, food preparation, work or business responsibilities, phone habits, finances, relationships, grocery shopping, or household tasks.
There is nothing to fix here, only notice.
Step Three: Focus on What You Want More Of
In direct relationship to what you are letting go of, name what you want to experience more of.
Using the example above, this may be simplicity, spaciousness, or balance.
Allow yourself to feel what these qualities would be like in your body and in your daily life.
Step Four: Invite One Gentle Change
Based on the areas where you noticed energy drain, ask yourself:
What is one simple change I could make in each of these areas to bring more ease, spaciousness, or simplicity into my life?
One small shift is enough.
Step Five: Allow Change to Happen Naturally
Now that awareness has been brought to both the pattern and the adjustment, allow yourself to gently shift toward the one change you identified.
With awareness, change does not need to be forced. As space opens, it becomes more possible for these shifts to happen naturally.
This is transmutation in practice, allowing an old pattern to change form through understanding, not effort.
Working With Themes Over Time
You may choose to work with one theme for the year, two themes total, or one primary theme per quarter.
For example:
1st Quarter: Balance and simplicity
2nd Quarter: Ease and flow
3rd Quarter: Consistency and reliability
4th Quarter: Trust and releasing fear
Whatever approach you choose, let it feel supportive rather than overwhelming. One intentional shift at a time is more than enough.
If you feel called to explore this more deeply, you can download the Awareness Exercise Worksheet and work through the practice at your own pace.
MY NEW YEARS WISH FOR YOU
May the year ahead bring you all that you are intentionally calling in, as well as a few wonderful, unexpected gifts that you are not. At the end of the day, that is what truly makes life magical — an ever-unraveling mystery. All we can do is show up as our best selves, remain grateful for all of it, and enjoy the ride!
~With Love and Gratitude~
Yours in Wellness,
Amber