All too often, we make New Year's resolutions with the very best of intentions only to have given up by the time St. Patrick's day rolls around. There are plenty of people who see resolutions as an invitation to failure. To top things off, if your resolutions frequently involve diet and exercise, you're likely feeling a bit like a blob going in on this whole resolution mess.
It doesn't have to be that way. Taking just a moment to re-frame what "resolution" means to you can be the key to some impressive achievements.
1. Understand What Resolution Means - The root of resolution is resolve. As a noun, it means to have purpose. As a verb, it means to bring about a positive solution to a problem. Either way, it's a powerful word that can supercharge the way you think about the changes you want to make in you life. When you sit down to consider what your list of resolutions, ask yourself what positive outcome are you looking for? Do you want to lose weight or do you want to find your ideal health and fitness routine? What do you feel resolved about? Allowing yourself to feel the power of being resolved can enable you to tap into the inner strength and determination to see things through.
2. Set a Reasonable Time Frame - It is not uncommon to choose a goal or resolution that takes 12 months to complete. There are a lot of things that can happen in that time. It takes 9 whole months to build a human and you still have 3 months left over. The point is, not everything needs to take up an entire calendar year. If you set a goal to build a habit, it only takes about 90 days for that habit to become a permanent part of your life. Maybe you want to create a habit of working out 4 days per week. If you are perfect at sticking to this one, then you're done by the end of March and your fitness routine is now something that can carry you for the rest of the year.
3. Practice vs. Perfection - It's unlikely that you've ever met a person who said, "I'm going to climb Mt. Everest" who went out and did just that the very next day. To climb big mountains takes practice and no one is perfect right off the bat. Plan for some failure and you're going to be way ahead in the end. By allowing yourself to view this process as a time to experiment until you find the right balance you are practicing new skills that will let you find the perfect balance for your weight and nutrition goals. No two people go about things the exact same way and being the completely unique little snowflake that you are, you need to give yourself some latitude so when things go off track you can understand that this is all apart of your discovery process. In the laboratory, even failures are beneficial because they bring us closer to what works. Each time we try and fail is an act of practicing which allows us to hone in on what really can work instead.
4. Start Early - Let's say you're a perfectionist and that whole practice makes perfect speech really threw you off. Let me ask you this, then... why wait until January 1 to start making changes? If you want to test out the diet and exercise waters now, you could get a jump on your resolutions but you get the added bonus of maybe avoiding the holiday weight gain that makes you feel like a blob who needs to make New Year's resolutions.
5. Mix Things Up - Variety is the spice of life and that goes for resolutions as well. By mixing things up and taking care of your emotional, spiritual and educational health as well, you open yourself up to a broader spectrum of achievements. Maybe you want to read 6 new books this year. Maybe you want to volunteer more. Maybe you want to get out of the house and explore the various festivals or swap meets in your city. No matter what you choose, you'll be giving your self-esteem a terrific boost which, in turn, will make any diet and fitness goals less daunting. Giving yourself other things to focus on means you can't focus on food quite as much as you used to.
When you take a moment to think about where you are and what you'd like to achieve, having a positive outlook is key. Redefining New Year's resolutions is a good place to start. Setting yourself free from old ways of thinking about this one thing can help you set yourself free from old ways of thinking about your whole life. It's just one step. One baby step. But that's how most journeys begin.
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