Not even two weeks ago “New Year, New Me” was all I heard and now with one week remaining of January 2016, many have already seen their New Year’s resolutions all but dissolved. You can recover! Please stop beating yourself up.
OK, OK let’s be honest…Yes, you slipped up and ate that cake, you’ve smoked that cigarette or skipped out on the strength training last week, it does NOT mean all is lost.
In fact…
Failure is almost an essential part of the process we all call success. (LOL)So is recovery.
Research suggests (and experiences teaches) that putting all your eggs in the proverbial New Year’s basket can, and usually does, backfire.
What do we expect when we tie our big world saving behavioral change to a specific date? If we don’t hit that mark by that date, we are devastated, our opportunity to both fall and bounce back, has been snatched away. If you are one of those ‘I’m waitin’ ’til January 1 folks’ who believe that you can only be so motivated, so inspired to change on the New Year (presumably the source of the belief in New Year’s resolutions), you would then play some lingering ‘weighting’ game for the rest of the year, you know, until next January 1.
Learning that all important ‘bounce back’ will help you succeed in the end. This bonus, pop-quiz of an opportunity let’s us figure out why the resolution horse didn’t make it around the track. Was it too far-fetched? Too restricting? Was it something you really wanted for you or was this just another thing someone else wants for you? You can tell me the truth. I happen to be pretty good at strategy-stuff. How about you and I come up with a new strategy that works for you? Let’s shorten the learning curve by implementing what works and learning from what didn’t.
Instead of stating some vague goal like “I just want to lose weight by…” to a specific date like New Year’s, a reunion or your birthday, choose a specific time-linked activity you will engage in, but for only one week. “I will only take the stairs for the next week” is a simple example of a specific change you can make if you are trying to build more activity into your day.
FORGET New Year’s resolutions. Every day is an opportunity to make a change.
Remember:
Failure is a part of ultimate success. We seem to learn more from our losses than from our wins and it can be easy to grow complacent or even lazy when we aren’t being challenged. With that being said, I challenge you to go beyond making simple resolutions. Instead build and fortify a plan, team up with a life/wellness coaching professional (me or someone else) and put your plan into action today. Like Home Depot would say, ‘you can build it, I can help, lol’… Book your phone or in-person consultation and take advantage of this time to show your interest has matured into commitment. Our First Wealth is Our Health!!
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