I couldn't find any parking at my gym this morning. Usually, I can get a space right near the door. But this time, I had to park so far away, it took me five minutes to walk to the entrance. This is annoying, which I guess doesn't really make sense, because I was there to work out anyway. And I should have known it would get busy after the holidays. It always does. The woman beside me in Pilates joked that we'll all get our parking spaces back by the end of January. And that's true, but kind of sad. Most of us are like that with resolutions, with goals. We start out enthusiastic, but then our willpower weakens. And that's maybe part of what's keeping you awake tonight. Thinking about the goals you didn't meet last year. And the irony is that when you can't sleep, when you're feeling anxious and defeated before the attempt even begins, you have even less energy to make those changes happen. So tonight, we're going to do two things. First, we're going to help you sleep, deeply, peacefully. The kind of restorative sleep that lets you wake up feeling ready for whatever's ahead. And second, while you're relaxing into that sleep, we're going to change how you think about goals. Because it's not about willpower.It never was. It's about something much simpler. And once you understand that, everything changes. But before we get started, a quick reminder to be somewhere safe while you listen. This episode uses hypnotherapy and relaxation techniques designed to help you sleep. So hopefully, you're tucked into bed and not, say, driving to the gym. Looking for parking. And if this episode helps you sleep, please consider rating or reviewing the show. It's the best New Year's gift you could give this little podcast. And it helps other sleepless people find us. Let's begin by bringing your attention to your breathing. Breathe in, slowly and deeply. Feel your belly expand. And then your chest. Hold that breath gently for a moment. And then exhale slowly, even longer than the inhale. And do this a few more times at your own pace. Just slow, deep breathing. And then I want you to imagine a warm, pure light above your head. This light is peaceful, healing, comforting. And this light is going to flow through you, washing away tension. Dissolving tightness. Leaving only warmth and ease. So feel the light touching the crown of your head first. Feel the warmth there, spreading across your scalp, moving down your forehead. And reaching toward your eyes. Your eyes have been working so hard today. All the tiny muscles around each eye have been contracting thousands of times. Moving your eyes to track words, faces, screens, objects. Let all those muscles rest now. Let the warm light soothe them. And your eyelids are becoming so heavy now. So relaxed. If they're not closed already, let them close now. The light flows to your temples. Feel the warmth there. Your temples are where the temporalis muscles attach, muscles you use for chewing. And sometimes we clench these muscles when we're tense, creating headaches that throb right here at the temples. Let that light dissolve any tightness. Let those muscles go soft and still. Feel the warm light flowing to your mouth and the area around it. There are so many tiny muscles around your mouth. All day they've been working to communicate and to hold whatever expression you needed to show the world. Let them all release. The corners of your mouth releasing downward. All those tiny muscles letting go. And then the light flows down to your jaw. This is where so many of us hold tension. Your jaw muscles can generate hundreds of pounds of force when you bite down. But you're not biting down now. You're letting go. Let your back teeth separate slightly. The warm light is moving through your jaw now. Feel it loosening, opening, releasing. Your jaw is so heavy now, so relaxed. The light flows down your neck. Feel your neck softening. Feel the muscles at the back of your neck. The ones that run from the base of your skull down to your shoulders, letting go. Your head is supported by your pillow. Your neck doesn't have to do any work at all right now. The light reaches your shoulders. As the warm light flows into these muscles, they release. Feel your shoulders dropping down, away from your ears. The space between your shoulders and ears is growing. Your shoulders are so heavy now. Just let them drop. Let gravity do the work. The light flows down your upper arms now. Let them go completely soft. Your arms are just weight now, just heaviness. Resting wherever they've fallen. Feel the light moving down to your forearms. Moving through them, releasing any tightness. Your forearms are so relaxed now. The light moves into your hands. Your hands have perhaps worked harder than any other part of your body today. Gripping, typing, touching. Let all those tiny muscles rest now. Feel the light flowing into your palms, into each finger, all the way to your fingertips. Now the light flows into your chest. Feel the warmth spreading across your ribcage. Your chest feels open, spacious, relaxed. The light moves down your spine now. All day, your spine has been supporting you, keeping you upright. But now you're lying down. Your spine is perfectly supported. The muscles along your spine, the ones that run from your neck all the way down to your lower back, can finally rest. Feel the light flowing down your spine. Your entire back is sinking deeper into the mattress. The light flows into your lower back. And this is where we often hold tension, especially if we sit or stand a lot. The muscles here can become so tight, they create pain that radiates into your hips or legs. But the warm light is melting that tightness now. Feel your lower back softening. Your whole back is making contact with the bed now. You are supported, heavy, relaxed. The light moves into your hips. Your hip flexors in particular can get very tight if you sit a lot. They can pull on your lower back, creating discomfort. So let the warm light loosen them now. Feel your entire hip area becoming heavy. Your hips are widening, relaxing. They're completely at ease. The light flows down your thighs, where the largest muscles in your body have carried your body weight all day. Let them rest now. Feel them becoming soft, utterly relaxed. Your thighs are sinking into the mattress. And feel the light moving down to your knees. They've been bending and straightening, bearing your weight. Let them rest now. The warm light flows through your knees, releasing any tightness, any discomfort. Feel the light moving through your calves now. And notice how good it feels when they finally let go. The tightness dissolving. That heaviness settling in. Your calves are so heavy now, so relaxed. And the light moves into your feet. Feel the relief as the warm light flows into them. The arches of your feet releasing. Your heels heavy against the bed. It feels so incredibly good to let your feet rest. You feel them go heavy, and warm, and still. The warm light has now moved through your entire body, from the crown of your head all the way down to your toes. Take a moment to feel your whole body at once. Notice how different it feels from when we started. How heavy. How warm. How completely, deeply relaxed. And now, I want you to focus on my voice. And let it become your anchor, your guide. Other sounds may drift in and out, but let those fade into the background. My voice is what matters now. Let each word sink deeply into your awareness. I want you to think about the new year ahead. Think about what you want most. Not a list of things, just one thing. The goal that matters more to you than any other. The change that would make the biggest difference in your life. Maybe it's your health. Maybe it's about a relationship. Maybe it's about finally letting go of something that's been weighing you down. Whatever it is, choose it now. Hold it in your mind. And now, I want you to imagine that it's one year from now. It's this time next year. And you've done it. You've made it. You've achieved this goal. You've become the person you wanted to become. And where are you in this moment? Picture the place. Are you at home? Or somewhere meaningful to you? See it clearly. Notice the details. What's around you? How do you look? There's something different about you now. Something in the way you hold yourself. The way you move through the world. You look lighter somehow. More yourself. Feel it in your body. This accomplishment. It lives in you now. In your posture. In your breathing. The hard work is behind you now. Notice how you feel. Emotionally. There's pride. And more than that, there's a quiet confidence. You did what you said you would do. You kept the promise you made to yourself. How has this achievement impacted your life? What doors have opened? What became possible that wasn't possible before? And imagine someone who loves you. Someone who wants the best for you. Seeing you like this. What do they say? You can see the happiness in their face. The pride. And what's the best thing about having reached this goal? Not the goal itself. But what it gave you. Maybe it's freedom. Or peace. Maybe it's a sense of possibility. Or maybe it's just this feeling right here. This deep satisfaction of knowing you're capable of more than you thought. Take a moment to really feel this. To live in this future moment where you've already succeeded. In this future you're imagining, you achieved this goal. And you did it because this time was different. This time, you didn't rely on willpower alone. You were smarter. You created an environment that supported you. You made the good choice the easy choice. You removed the obstacles that had tripped you up before. This time, you started small. Laughably small. So small you couldn't fail. And you built from there. Slowly. Patiently. You didn't try to transform yourself overnight. You just took one tiny step. And then another. And then another. This time, you focused on becoming someone. Not just achieving something. You didn't say, I want to lose weight. You said, I'm becoming someone who moves their body every day. You didn't say, I want to write a book. You said, I'm becoming a writer. And this time, you forgave yourself faster. When you slipped, and you did slip, everyone does. You didn't let one missed day become two. You got back on track right away. You remembered that progress isn't always linear. And this time, you had patience. You understood that real change takes time. This can be your reality. This future you're imagining. It's waiting for you. It's possible. It's within reach. Ordinary people, people just like you, have achieved the exact thing. You want to achieve. They weren't superhuman. They were just people who took the steps one at a time. You can do this. You will do this. Hold that belief inside you like a fire. That certainty, that knowing, you have everything you need already inside you. It's all there. Now, let's bring your attention back to your breath. Notice how you're breathing. Slow. Deep. Easy. Each breath in, bringing calm. Each breath out, releasing everything you don't need. Feel your body again. So heavy. So relaxed. The warm light has done its work. You're completely, deeply, peacefully relaxed. Let your mind grow quiet now. Tonight, you can simply rest. You don't need to plan. You don't need to worry. You don't need to figure anything out. Tonight is for sleeping. For deep, restorative, healing sleep. Your body knows what to do. Your mind is growing quieter. Thoughts are becoming softer, less distinct. Like clouds dissolving. Like fog lifting. Everything is becoming peaceful. Still. Calm.  You're safe here. Held by the darkness. Wrapped in warmth. Supported by your bed. Nothing requires your attention. Feel yourself sinking deeper. Deeper into the mattress. Deeper into relaxation. Deeper toward sleep. Each breath carries you further. Each exhale lets you release a little more. Softer. Heavier. Quieter. You've done everything you needed to do. You've set your intention for the year ahead. You've imagined your success. You've given yourself permission to believe. Now you can rest. Now you can sleep. Now you can let go. The warm light is still with you, surrounding you, protecting you. You're glowing with it. Peaceful. Sleep is so close now. You can feel it at the edges of your consciousness. Gentle. Welcoming. Inevitable. Just let yourself drift. Your breathing is so slow now. So steady. Your body so heavy. Your mind so quiet. Good things are coming. In the new year. In your life. In your future. You deserve this rest. You deserve good things. You deserve to wake tomorrow feeling hopeful and ready. The new year is full of promise. And so are you.I'm SUzanne. This is your ticket to snoozeville. Seep now. Sleep deeply. Sleep well.