New Year’s Resolutions are so easy to make on January 1st and so hard to keep on January 2nd. Keeping a NY’s Res takes commitment and focus. Set yourself up for a win.
Take one bite of the apple at a time. Choose one area of change and put all your energy into that change. Choose something easy for your first change, something that you know you can do. Having one win under your belt will allow you to feel victorious and make the next change easier and the one after that even easier.
Eventually, you will work your way up to the challenge that you deemed the most. You will arrive with several victories under your belt. You will have created discipline, and you will know you can do anything you set your mind to doing.
Many times we quit when we have a bad day. We feel that because we ate a pint of Ben & Jerry’s that we may as well give up the diet. We feel like failures. Change your perspective.
Look at what feelings, events and circumstances caused you to down a pint of Chubby Hubby. Know your hot spots and be prepared the next time you experience those feelings, events or circumstances.
When you have a setback, learn from it. It is not will power that wins the day, but perseverance discipline and determination. Evolve. Understand what triggers your poor choice behavior and then turn your failure into a victory. The point is not to stop the behavior, but to evolve into a better person.
Excessive Ice cream consumption is not the enemy, nor is drugs or alcohol or any other life depleting choice. Life affirming choices come about as a result of evolution, of understanding your triggers and consciously making better choices.
Start out small. Going cold turkey can lead to feelings of deprivation. Feeling deprived can cause an excessive relapse. If you are quitting cigarettes, then choose to stop the ones that you can give up. Maybe you can give up your coffee break ciggy, but not your after sex ciggy. Choose to give up half and work your way down from there. If half is too much, then choose to give up one ciggy a day.
Trade in your six hour couch potato stint with the TV for an hour with your kid playing a game. You still have five hours with the TV, but you now have one hour with a smiling child. You will find with time that the hour with your child grows to two or three hours and you will further find that you do not miss your TV nearly as much as you thought you would on January 1st.
If you are starting an exercise program, again, take one bite of the apple at a time. Do not set yourself up to walk 20 miles if you have spent 90% of your life behind a computer. Do not even set yourself up to walk a mile or even a half-mile. Set your goal at one block. You may huff and puff those first few days and you may feel that you have walked 20 miles, but within a week, you will find you WANT to walk two blocks.
Life affirming choices create more of the same. Soon you will find you are walking a mile and hiking with your mate two miles on the weekend. By January 1st, 2011, you may find you are ready to do your first marathon.
Finally, get a support team. Check with doctors to find out what types of tools may be available for you if you want to quit alcohol, drugs or ciggies. Have a doctor give you the certificate of good health so that you know you can physically diet and exercise. Do not use fad diets or programs. Use sensible tools and make wise and healthy life changing choices.
Get into groups that help with your particular issue. Start your own exercise, walking or yoga group. Call your support person when Ben and Jerry’s is calling you. There is scientific proof that groups can raise the energy of each and every member of the group when they all focus on life affirming choices. Get the support you need and victory will be yours.
Steps to Make those NY’s Resolutions Stick:
1. Do not take on many resolutions at once. Set a year long series of resolutions.
2. Do not compare yourself to experts. Do not set goals that are impossible to reach. Set small goals, take your victories and run with them. Victories feed into more and greater victories.
3. When you have a setback, learn from it and evolve.
4. Trade out life depleting choices for life affirming choices.
5. Get a support team.
If you are interested in Energy Therapy, you may contact Maria at ellobousa@yahoo.com
By Maria Etta Annabel