It happens every year as we greet the new year. It seems we are hard-wired to create a list of changes to install on January 1. Lose weight, exercise more, be more grateful, clean out the attic….everything we’re going to do, improve and change with the new year.
Yet we often set traps for ourselves by creating changes without being prepared for reality. If you’ve ever experienced real change, you know there is, at certain times, resistance stemming from the part of us that has no desire to make meaningful efforts.
For example, have you ever tried (and failed) to create a rigorous exercise routine? If so, you might remember things starting out great, with you pounding away on the treadmill or other mode for the first week or two. Until one day, you wake up with excuses running through your brain telling you why it’s better to not exercise that day.
Or maybe you’ve attempted to lose weight at some point in life. You might recall that after a week of salads, your mind starts to tell you that two or three cookies won’t hurt…
We just don’t map out and plan for the resistance. It’s like the pothole you know is on your street and your knowledge allows you to avoid it.
Here are a few tips for rethinking your resolutions:
- Make it realistic
- Chart progress
- Consider what resistance might occur and what you need to avoid falling into its clutches
- Provide ample rewards and celebration for each success
- Learn to identify negative signals and find ways to swerve out of their path
It doesn’t matter whether it’s January 1 or April 2. Any time is a good time to improve habits, just think it through first.
Happy New Year!
