How has 2019 started out for you?Have you made it a point to set goals for this year? Are you feeling empowered with your choices of resolutions or disappointed by your lack of fortitude? Hopefully, you are feeling empowered, but if not, keep reading to find out 10 tips to get you on track.
This is about the time when most people begin to slip on their resolutions for the new year. According to Researcher, John Norcross, about 50% of the population makes resolutions every year and, out of that group, 92% fail! Maybe my habit of not making resolutions is a result of not particularly liking the thought of failing.
With such a high rate of failure, it’s surprising anyone makes any resolutions. Are we weak? Lazy? Unorganized? Undisciplined? Or something else?
People typically use resolutions to change habits they are neither ready nor committed to address, therefore they fail. Timothy Pychyl, a psychology professor at Carleton University, is noted for believing the resolutions are a form of “cultural procrastination” and not really a form of following through and making lasting change.
Looking back to when I used to set New Year’s resolutions, I realize that they were unrealistic and out of alignment with who I wanted to be as a person; thus a big reason why I didn’t follow through with them.
Being thinner didn’t make me happier and honestly, sticking to my budget goes against my nature and never made me happier either. No wonder I was soon on my way back to what was comfortable.
So, if you really want to change a behavior that’s damaging, don’t wait for a new year or even for a Monday. The reality is that to successfully change a habit or start something new, you must change your behavior. And to do that, you have to “rewire” your brain. The good news is that it is possible. Using actual MRIs, neurologists Antonio Damasio and Joseph LeDoux and psychotherapist Stephen Hayes confirmed our habits are created by thinking patterns that pave pathways and memories in our brain. These then become our default modus operandi.
What’s even more fascinating is that they discovered attempting to change our habitual response (trying NOT to do the bad habit) has the opposite effect; it strengthens the habit. If we are serious about change, we must create new neural paths from new thinking, which is why I’m sharing:
Ten Tips For Resolution Success
If you’re still motivated to achieve your New Year’s goals, here are my tips to increase your chance of success:
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- Choose ONE goal. Only one.
- Give the goal some specificity and be realistic. “Losing weight” won’t cut it. “Losing 10 pounds in 90 days” is better.
- Work on your goals every three months and review them daily.
- Chunk it down. Another reason for failure is that we set goals that are too big. Small hinges open big doors, don’t underestimate the “momentum” effect of a small win.
- Enlist the help of an accountability partner, and be completely honest with that person.
- Celebrate small wins and milestones along the way. No need to postpone the celebration until the goal is 100% reached.
- Imagine yourself performing the new behaviors. This helps create the new brain pathways needed to change habits.
- Focus on the present. What’s the one thing you can do today, right now, toward your goal.
- Be mindful. Become physically, emotionally and mentally aware of your emotional state every day. What this does is helps you live in the moment rather than living in the past or future.
- Be grateful. Studies show that a five-minute daily gratitude practice can increase your well being by more than 10%. That is equivalent to the benefit of doubling your income!
Take charge of your career future. If you’d like a boost in the right direction, let’s have a conversation. Seriously, if you are ready, I invite you to schedule your complimentary consultation with me right here: http://maricarmenpizarro.com/contact-mari-carmen/
