January 14th

Someone asked me how my New Years Resolution was coming along.  I quickly corrected that person and said that while I started it at the beginning of the year, it is not a new years resolution, it is a life style change.  I did some searching today to find out why our resolutions fail.

Here are some articles I found that discuss the reason resolutions fail.

 Why Resolutions Fail By Lauren Torrisi

Psychology Today by Ray B. Williams

1.  Focus on one resolution, rather several; I have one, how many do you have?
2. Set realistic, specific goals. Losing weight is not a specific goal. Losing 10 pounds in 90 days would be; My goal is not that specific, I guess I need to look at it again and figure out how to make it a little more specific
3.  Don't wait till New Year's eve to make resolutions. Make it a year long process, every day; I waiting until New Year's eve but I'm going to be doing this every day all day for the rest of my life
4. Take small steps. Many people quit because the goal is too big requiring  too big a step all at once; I think I have small steps, work out 3 days a week and count my calories daily
5.  Have an accountability buddy, someone close to you that you have to report to; You, my beautiful readers, are my accountability buddies!!! 
6. Celebrate your success between milestones. Don't wait the goal to be finally completed; Every pound is a cause for celebration!  Every 5 pounds lost, I get a ladybug something!
7. Focus your thinking on new behaviors and thought patterns. You have to create new neural pathways in your brain to change habits; This one is a little difficult but it can be done.  My new thinking is that exercise, although difficult right now will get easier as I get stronger and healthier
8. Focus on the present. What's the one thing you can do today, right now, towards your goal? What am I eating right now?  When am I going to exercise?  Do I really need this?
9. Be mindful. Become physically, emotionally and mentally aware of your inner state as each external event happens,moment by moment, rather than living in the past or future. This blog is part of this.  To talk about the past is to stop living in it.  I feel like I am now living moment by moment.  Although I am still talking about the past, I am living life now and making the most of now.
   
   How can you look at your New Year's resolutions? 

Thought of the day:
Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental states.
-Carol Welch