If you are beginning to doubt or need some strategies of encouragement and success for your New Year’s Resolution, read on. This check-up is for you.
New Year’s Resolutions can be intoxicating. As we enter the second week of 2020, some of the glitz and glamor of our New Year’s resolutions is wearing off. What we want to accomplish is going to take effort, perseverance, and repeating small behavior changes over and over.
But, we can do it!
Remind yourself why you made your resolution. If your resolution is just something that you felt you should do, you won’t feel inspired to do it. You chose a self-imposed punishment. Forgive yourself, show yourself some self-love, and change your resolution to something that inspires you. Then design your environment to support your success. Atomic Habits by James Clear is a quick read to give you clarity.
Call a friend and ask for support. Call that one person who gets you and bear your soul: “I need help! Can you help lift me up and help put me back on my path?” Real friends are there for you.
Enlist an accomplice who has a similar resolution and use the synergy of two to keep up the motivation and momentum. Check out Meetup.com and find where like-minded individuals are hanging out. Create a group if one doesn’t exist. It feels good and renewing to be in the presence of kindred spirits.
Hire a coach or trainer who has walked the path. Find someone who has fallen a few times on the journey. They know want it feels like to face doubt and rebound from setbacks. If a trainer or coach tells you that what you want can be done in three easy steps, they may not be the right trainer or coach for you if you are struggling. Search Google or ask others for referrals and then interview and find the teacher/coach for you.
Finally share your story. It helps you and those who are listening. Here’s mine:
I’m on the “Love My Body” Tour this year. It is my creation—12 months of building exercising and nutrition (eating and taking my supplement) habits for my life now that I’m over 50. I’ve stashed my supplements all over —home, office and car—so I can’t forget them. I carry around my Back to Eden book and share its wisdom. I have combined listening to my audio books and online courses with three weekly elliptical workouts. I’m carrying plain or lemon water whenever I go so I can stay hydrated and not carbonated. To add in accountability and my love for learning, I enrolled in a free course on well-being taught by Yale professor Laurie Santos. I want to “Love My Body” because I need and depend on my body. Without my health, my living and life are compromised. I’m not asking for a size 5 or the ability to complete an Iron Woman. I want to continue an active life a clean bill of health. I don’t want to know the names of all the fancy medicines and all of their side-effects like sudden death. My vision is to be vibrant and active at 95! With that vision and purpose, I’ve redesigned my environment making the “Love My Body” Tour easy, accessible, satisfying, and enjoyable. It’s only the second week, but I give the “Love My Body” Tour a standing ovation.
Keep going on your resolutions. It’s week two. It’s time to re-examine your resolutions and readjust if needed. Check in and see what you need to keep moving ahead in this New Year to a New You!
Inspiring Minds 