by Jean Haner

January is a special time, when we look at the new year stretched ahead of us, often with the hope that we can finally achieve positive change in our lives. Usually this means we write New Year's resolutions, or work on a plan to make things different. But many times what happens is that we can't maintain the new plan, and instead click right back into old habits. And this is where the principles of Chinese face reading can help.

Each of us has unique patterns of perception and ways of being in the world, and sometimes these can keep us stuck in creating our future based on our past. But these patterns are also a map of how you can achieve successful change. And the features of your face can show you the way to creating a plan that will work for you.

Face reading defines five distinct personality types named Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. You actually have all five in your make-up, in different measures, but there is always one that's your main type. By knowing which one is your energetic signature, you discover how you tend to get stuck in life, and how to move beyond that place into infinite possibilities for the future.

Water: The facial features for a Water person include a rounded forehead, natural shadowing under the eyes, and a prominent chin. Water people are life's dreamers, very creative and intuitive. But they can get stuck in the dreaming stage, which is where they're most comfortable, and never take action to make their dreams real in the world.

If you're a Water person, turn your attention to "doing:" make a step-by-step plan to move toward your goal. But you should also be realistic about your personal style and understand that change for you is always a process that happens slowly, over time. Make the doing a part of every day but allow plenty of your more familiar dreamtime too.

Wood: These faces show strong eyebrows, a prominent jaw, and sometimes indented temples. The Wood person has no problem with doing. They love to take action and move forward; however this is often part of their problem. They get impatient if change doesn't come quickly enough, or frustrated if they can't move on to the next stage soon. Long-term projects can be exasperating and then they throw up their hands and walk away.

If you are a Wood type, the key to success here is making sure your action plan has short, achievable steps that quickly allow you to see tangible results. Make sure you don't create a plan that gets you bogged down in details, but instead is organized in a way that makes you feel like you reach a small goal each day.

Fire: A Fire face often has red or very curly hair, twinkling eyes, peaked eyebrows, dimples, or freckles. This is someone who loves to have fun and needs plenty of variety in life. They're great multi-taskers, but often have too many projects going at once and then never complete anything.

If you are Fire, any plan for change has got to be fun and must include lots of variety. An overly structured plan that has you doing the same thing every day will be far too boring. Make every stage different, build in some playfulness and celebration and you'll easily be able to reach your goal.

Earth: These facial features include a large mouth or full lips, plumpness to the cheeks, and sometimes rounded eyebrows. A sense of connection with family and friends is very important to an Earth person. They also tend to have issues with self-confidence and their own sense of personal power, as they're so concerned with how everyone else is doing instead of themselves.

If you're an Earth person, you may try to struggle through on your own, not wanting to bother others. But your success actually comes through asking those people who you trust to have your best interests at heart to be your own personal support team. These are the people to turn to on a regular basis to chat, complain and tell your story, and with this help, you'll achieve your goal.

Metal: A Metal face has a large nose, and/or prominent cheeks and often sculpted features overall. These people care very much about the quality of their work, but tend to always feel like they've not done something well enough; they're highly self-critical.

If you have Metal in your nature, recognize how loud your inner critic can be, and create a detailed plan that gives you things to praise yourself for each day. Unlike the Earth person, you may not want to share your process with others because their offers of advice may feel like criticism to you.

I hope 2012 brings wonderful change for you. My own plan for the new year has me taking a sabbatical from writing a column for New Spirit Journal, as I focus my time on writing my next book in collaboration with my dear and magical friend, Louise Hay. I've so loved talking with you here, and will be back with occasional articles, plus a workshop in Seattle this spring. In the meantime, I hope you'll visit me at www.wisdomofyourface.com.

Editor's Note: New Spirit Journal would like to thank Jean for the years she has written this column and shared her wisdom so generously with our readers. We wish Jean the best in her continuing endeavors and look forward to her sharing with us again when her schedule allows. Thank you, Jean!

Jean Haner is the author of The Wisdom of Your Face, and The Wisdom of Your Child's Face. With her 25-year background in ancient Chinese principles of balance and health, Jean places an emphasis on compassionate and affirming ways for people to live in alignment with their own true selves and look with love at everyone they encounter. Please visit www.wisdomofyourface.com for information on workshops, consultations and Jean's free newsletter.