Each year at this time we sit down and make a list of our New Year’s resolutions. After all of the challenges of the old year, many of us will more than likely attack our New Year list with gusto. This is a good time to start the New Year with a clean slate and make a new start. We often times decide this is going to be the year we actually keep those resolutions past January.

At the top of many lists is to lose weight, stop smoking /drinking, exercise more, save more, reduce expenses, eliminate debt and spend more time with family and friends.  We start off with good intentions, however within one month, 33% of us have broken our resolutions and a whopping 75% fall off the wagon in 3 months.

We want the benefit of the results, we know what to do, we know why we should do it and we know how to do it, yet deep down most of us do not want to actually make the change.  Behavioral change is about more than just wishing things were different.  If just making wishes at the end of year for the next year actually worked there would be no obesity, bad debt, alcoholics etc…so we have to look deeper.

As a doctor, most people come to me when they are in pain, or have discomfort in some form. I often find myself explaining to patients how much better their life could be if they lost weight, improved their diet, quit smoking and increased exercise.  I show them how to do it with plans and programs and provide ongoing support, however I am often confronted with immediate bargaining on the part of the patient.  In other words they want the benefits without the discomfort of actually making the necessary changes.

Why don’t we make changes that would improve our lives?  Why does it take a major event like a heart attack, or loss of a lung before someone will lose weight or stop smoking? It is amazing how suddenly people find the discipline to start living right.  A depressing thought for the theory of change.

The reason according to well known author David Meister is that we do not want to work at areas that need improvement because the rewards and pleasures are in the future.  We want immediate gratifications.  We do not want to go through the discomfort of caffeine withdrawals or the stiffness and soreness that occurs after one has not exercised in years.

As we said earlier we start off with good intentions.  We make our goals, we set priorities, we make them personal and write them down etc.  In order to keep our resolutions and reach our goals we need to change our lifestyle.  We need to develop new habits that become part of our every day lives like brushing our teeth.  We need to have the courage to keep up these new patterns and not yield to old familiar temptations.  For example, you had a stressful day at work.  New habit would be to go for a walk and de-stress, old habit is to sit in front of the television with Hagen Daas.  It gets back to the immediate pay off.  If our new habits don’t pay off immediately, temptation arises; and we abandon the effort until the next time we attempt a change.  The cycle of Try, Succumb to Temptation, Give up; Repeat until totally frustrated is a familiar pattern to many.

What can you do to be successful this year and finally let go of old and unhealthy lifestyle habits? The very first thing you need to do is have a conversation with yourself and answer the question of “why do I really want to make a change?” If you can’t answer that question in a way that will give you more satisfaction from the change than the ACTUAL SATISFACTION you are getting from your current behavior you have no hope. Answer the question first. Now proceed with the steps.

1. Permanent change in lifestyle.  You don’t get sustained benefits until it becomes a natural and permanent part of your life.  Anything less puts your short term gain in jeopardy. It needs to become routine. For example schedule your workouts at times that you will actually do them. Don’t set times that won’t work and that will allow all kinds of other things to get in the way.
2. Do it for yourself.  Your goals need to be personal. Involve your support network but do it for you not to gain the good opinion of others. Make yourself a priority. Think about your answer to the question above before we started the list
3. Measure Measure Measure. If you are trying to lose weight, you must weigh yourself. If you are trying to increase the amount of walking you do get a pedometer. Trying to save more money, set the amount aside as soon as you get your paycheck and put it in a separate account etc. Track your results in writing.
4. Don’t make too many resolutions.  Set a priority and only tackle two or three goals at a time and make them stick.
5. Don’t make goals too ambitious.  They take too long and it is hard to see that far down the road.  It is easier to set up goals in smaller obtainable chunks. You can have long term goals but if you do set short term yardsticks that will lead to the long term gain.
6. Stay away from people and events that sabotage your efforts.  It is hard enough to stick to your goal without having to content with temptation that could put all you had work in jeopardy. Engage a support team, perhaps friends or family members with similar goals.
7. It’s OK to stumble. It is only a sin if you don’t get back on the program immediately.  Don’t go down the guilt road either it doesn’t serve you well. Just recognize why you stumble and make every effort when confronted with that situation again not to fall off the wagon. Once again remember what you decided was in it for you, the why behind the change.
8. Celebrate the small steps.  Celebration is key, whether it is one pound a week, or no alcohol today, etc.  Build on the small steps until they add up to become big successes.
9. Visualize your success, and keep a positive focus. Once again why are you doing it, is it health, is it a few sizes down on your dress or belt size, is it just feeling good enough to do all the things you want or need to do, is it about being able to buy a house or save for retirement. Whatever it is visualize it in detail, see yourself after you have succeeded living the success. Keeping a journal is a good way to document your success. Start each day with a positive thought or mantra that is related to our goal.
10. Taking Action is the key.  The difference between you and the person you want to become is action. Often the first step is the most important so Just Take It

I hope that this article helps you with your goals for a healthier and more manageable life this year.  The key is that in order to make a change you must truly want it.  Here’s to a healthier and happier New Year and Jack Lalaine says….” Dying is easy – but living is hard work”

Dr Pia Martin, DC, CCN

www.cre8wellness.com