So many New Year's Resolutions never make it to February that they are understandably the butt of jokes and a source of skepticism. We make them with enthusiasm and good intent, and then ease back into our old familiar ways after just a few weeks. Excuses start to seem like good reasons.
If you have been unsuccessful in seeing your good intentions through, here are some ideas that might give you a better chance in 2021.
1. Resolve to act differently rather than to be different.
We don't change without altering our behavior. If we resolve to achieve certain results, be it losing 20 pounds, cutting back on drinking or getting more sleep, we are not going to do so unless we change the behaviors and habits that have gotten us to where we are right now. Instead of resolving to lose weight, decide instead to make specific changes to your diet and exercise routines. The result will follow the behavior.
2. Don't sabotage yourself with an "all or nothing" attitude.
Instead of trying to change everything that you dislike about your present situation, pick one or two things and change them. Go for small but meaningful successes. Celebrate your progress. Even a small step in the right direction leaves you better off than you were and makes the next step that much easier for you to take.
3. Be the Turtle, not the Hare.
Whatever it is you want to change, chances are it took you a while to develop the routines and habits you have now. If you gained that 50 pounds over ten years, its maybe not reasonable or fair to expect to lose it in a month or two. Making one small change at a time and building on your success makes it much more likely that you will start to create new habits and begin to achieve long-term results. And be able to maintain them. Slow and steady may not feel like you are getting anywhere at first but after a few weeks you will see that your are, indeed, winning the race.
4. Limit or remove your triggers and temptations.
Often the things we dislike are habits that we have formed and reinforced without even thinking about it. We all have our habits and daily rituals. And we have certain people or places or circumstances which trigger the very behavior we are trying to change. The more of these triggers you can eliminate from your life (its unlikely that you will be able to eliminate them all) the easier it will be to alter your behavior and get the results you want. If you don't have that bag of chips in the pantry, you aren't going to sit down by the TV and eat it.
5. Call yourself out on your excuses.
Literally. Call yourself out, out loud. We all have excuses for not doing what we had decided to do. I can do it tomorrow. Skipping it once won't hurt anything. I don't have time right now. I really just don't feel like it today. I was good all week, I deserve a treat. These are all your ways of putting off dealing with the discomfort of change. Think of all the things you make yourself do that you really would rather not do. Get up when the alarm goes off. Pay the cable bill. Go to the dentist. But you do them anyway because you don't want to deal with the problems caused by not doing them. If you want the rewards of change, you have to deal with changing.
I'd love to hear from you about any tricks, techniques or tactics that you have found to be successful in helping you reach your resolution goals.
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