Beginnings

It is a new year.  With all things new, we tend to have our hopes set very high.  It is common, especially when the year is at it’s start to have high hopes for the things that will change in the coming year.  The bad habits that we’ve formed over the past years, we hope to discontinue.  We also hope to somehow work our way toward a healthier & happier life in the year ahead by forging new habits with some sort of immense willpower which has, until January the first, alluded us.  Our expectations may be unrealistic & our efforts laughable, at times. After having no exercise routine for years we suddenly hope to run 5 miles a day, 6 days out of the week.  After drinking soda daily since we were teens, we hope to drink only water, herbal tea and probiotic rich drinks.  But, just because we sometimes set unrealistic goals for ourselves does not mean that new habits are futile to try to attain.  On the contrary, new  & wholesome habits are important and worthy goals set.  There are better ways to go about it, however, than strictly by grunt-force willpower.

1. One at a time. Habits are formed through doing them, not by resolving to do them. For this reason it is best to choose one habit at a time to work on.  It takes a great deal of energy to make the decision to do something new each time you must do it. For instance, if you do not have the habit of walking each morning, it takes just as much effort to decide to put on your gear and get out the door as it does to actually do the walking.   Once the effort of decision is less, you can move on to more habits that you’d like to form, but not until then, lest you abandon the progress you’ve made on the first habit.

2. Specific, Measurable, attainable, reasonable, trackable. You’ve probably already heard of making goals that are “S.M.A.R.T”.  Remember to make your goals each of the things listed above.  It is better to say, “I’m going to eat at least 2 green vegetables a day,” than “I’m going to get healthier this year.”  If you can measure a goal, you’ll know whether you’ve reached it or not.  If you cannot measure a goal, you can easily fool your own mind into believing that you’ve attained it, even without evidence.

3. Once your goals or habits have become easier, move on to solidifying them in such a way as it will be difficult to break them in the future.  Try to be sure you do them 21 times in a row, without pause.  Notice how much easier it is each time.

4. Wagons & Trains. You’ve probably heard habits described as ruts in a road that makes it easier for a wagon to find its way with ease. They’ve also been described as putting down track for a train to later follow on easily.  Whichever way you look at it, habits are the pre-cursors that we follow on, often without thought.

5. Good or Bad. Because it would require too much effort to think through each action, habits are actually little blessings throughout our day. If you had to pay heed to things like tying your shoes each time that you did it and decide to do it a different way each time, your mind would be full of that action & unable to think ahead to some of the heavier decisions that had to be made throughout the day.  One thing is certain, we are forming habits all throughout the day, every day.  Not making your bed each morning is just as much habit as making your bed.  Eating sugary cereal and coffee is just as much habit as eating veggies and eggs.  You are laying down rails through habits.  Is the railway taking you where you want to go?

Resolve

'Tis the season for New Year's Resolutions. Everyone living has probably made a resolution to stop a bad habit or begin a new habit.  According to www.buisnessinsider.com, 80% of New Year's Resolutions fail by February. I suppose that this might be laughable if you are making resolutions that are not that important to you, but what about things of importance to you.  What if you really need to make dietary changes or reap health problems with long reaching ramifications?  If you desperately need to live with resolve in some area of your life in order to improve the quality of your life, then statistics like those listed above can be daunting.  So, what can you do to improve your odds of success with resolutions?

  1. Set specific goals. Don't say, “In 2018 I will lose weight”.  If you do not set a specific amount of weight that you want to lose, how will you know if you've attained your goal?  Do not say, “I will drink more water.”  Be specific and set an amount that you will drink daily. Specifics can help you feel like you've accomplished something each day, which can be a reward in itself.
  2. Set attainable goals. If you say you plan to lose 300 pounds in 3 months, you must be prepared for failure.  The goals that you set must be attainable.  Aim for something that you can easily reach, then stretch yourself a little further!
  3. Make it reasonable. All of our lives are fraught with busyness, ups and downs. Do not make your goals unreasonable.  Have enough understanding of yourself to know that you may not be able to reach your goal in every season of life.  If, for instance, you have a goal of eating more green vegetables, but you also are in the process of moving from your home to an assisted living facility and do not have immediate access to a stove during your move, make allowances & do not live with guilt of things that are beyond your control.  Guilt itself can cause enough negative emotion to make the best resolve weaken under the pressure.
  4. Track your progress. Write your goal.  Track your progress and write it down.
  5. Reward yourself. Each week reward yourself if you've been faithful to your goal (or even if you've reached your goal 95% of the time). Make sure the your reward doesn't cause you to stumble in your resolve.  If you are trying to lower your sugar intake, your reward should not be a package of sugar cookies!  Consider making your reward something that will encourage you further in your resolve.

 

In the end, remember that you are making the resolution for the benefit of yourself.  Any progress that you make toward that goal is better than if you had not made the resolution.  Rest in the knowledge that you are moving forward instead of backwards & live in hope for the new year!