New Year's Resolutions that Stick

In a recent poll conducted by General Nutrition Centers, Quicken, and others show that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year. But how do you actually sustain those New Year’s Resolutions?

Declare It
Most resolutions fail because of how people are declaring the resolution. Most people say “I’m going to lose weight.” But what you lose you eventually find and that is not something people want to find again. But losing weight is usually not the goal. When you dig deeper, people want to live a healthy lifestyle. Every time you go to the frig, you declare, I live a healthy lifestyle. This certainly has an effect on the choices you decide to make when faced with decisions.

Create an Action Plan
Once you declare what you want it is necessary to commit to be in action to change it. An action plan involves several things: your goal, your action steps, and the date each action step will be achieved. It allows you to create steps to get you closer to your desired goal. This is especially important when you are changing habits. It is important for you to keep the action plan in the areas you live and work so that you can see it each day. It helps to keep you focused. Each week, take a moment to cross off those action steps you took. In one year, you’re 365 steps closer to your desired goals!

Schedule It
Most people live by their schedules yet fail to schedule time for themselves. Once your action plan is developed, schedule each of those action steps. You want to work out? Schedule it. You want to take that yoga class? Schedule it. This step takes you from “wouldn’t it be nice if I could” to “commitment.”

Make it Realistic and Fun
Make sure your goals are realistic and fun. Starting off with achievable initiatives perhaps working out for no more than 10 minutes. It allows you to see the short-term wins and gets you started. This is especially important with large goals. In addition, plans are often sidelined when something isn’t fun anymore. If living healthier is your goal, then make action items that are also fun. Plan a bike outing with your friends or family. Before you know it, the time flies by and you’ve exercised longer than 10 minutes!

Know Yourself
Most resolutions fail because the infrastructure is set up contrary to how the person is naturally wired. We are all wired a certain way. This wiring (or our motivators) determine how will approach something. People that like to juggle multiple things often like to have a variety of things on their plate. They have a tendency to put too many steps in their plan making it unrealistic. On the flip side, if they have only one form of exercise on their plan, then it is not diverse enough for them, it becomes boring, and they don’t want to exercise anymore. This is a sure fire way to failure. They key is finding a balance that works for your wiring.

The more you know yourself, the more you will get underneath the reasons for why your resolutions fail. When you understand this motivator, you can find ways to manage it. Some people are better at talking but always wanted to write a book. Yet they can’t make any headway at writing because the task of writing is contrary to how they are naturally motivated (by face to face or talking). So use your best feature (record a book on tape!) There are always alternatives that allow you to achieve your goals if you just understand your natural motivators and learn how to work with them!

Use Conscious Thought and Thought Shifters
Many people have negative conscious thoughts each day. “I can’t do this” “I can’t do that” or “I’m fat.” These are often self-limiting conscious thoughts that do nothing to motivate you. Instead, shift your thoughts. “I am healthy and fit.” While you may not believe it at first, this simple shift helps you to make better choices. If you say “I am health and fit,” you will begin to align yourself with healthy and fit choices before you know it.

When you have down days, use thought shifters. A simple thought-shifter is a Purpose Point exercise that keeps you on purpose. Ask yourself:

• What am I thinking, feeling, saying and doing?
• What do I want to have happen (or what is my purpose/goal)?
• What action can I take that will get me closer to my desired purpose/goal? (Then take the step.)

This simple exercise as well as creating a framework for change helps create the perfect recipe for New Year’s Resolution success.