Every January my local gym has an influx of new members and becomes crowded to the point that I have to wait in line to use the exercise machines. However, I\u2019ve noticed that the crowds thin out considerably after a few weeks. Why does this happen? I believe that people have the best intentions when they decide to get in shape for their New Year\u2019s resolution. But, it seems that keeping many of our New Year\u2019s resolutions is a challenge. Statistically, thirty percent of those who make a New Year\u2019s resolution break them by February. Only 7% of us reach our goal by the year\u2019s end.<\/p>\n
Why do many people fail to reach their resolution goals?<\/p>\n
Goals are too general<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI want to get healthier.\u201d \u201cI want to get out of debt.\u201d \u201cI need to get a better job.\u201d We are more likely to reach our goals when they are specific and measurable. A better goal is \u201cI want to pay off $2,000 of credit card debt by June.\u201d or \u201cI\u2019d like to lose 10 lbs in 10 weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Resolutions are unrealistic or inflexible<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am going to go the gym every day.\u201d \u201cI am going to give up all fried foods and never eat dessert.\u201d Goals need to be realistic AND flexible. It may not be possible to go to the gym EVERY day due to our work schedule or if we get sick. If our goals are not somewhat flexible, then we may get frustrated and feel like a failure if we do slip up and have a slice of birthday cake or can\u2019t make it to the gym one day.<\/p>\n Lack of planning<\/span><\/p>\n It is great to set a goal to pay off our bills and get out of debt. But, that will not happen without a plan. It is necessary to make a budget that includes our income and expenses. From there, we need to decide exactly what will need to change in our budget each month to find the money to pay down our debt.<\/p>\n Why is this goal important to me?<\/span><\/p>\n It really helps to define why a particular goal is important to us. How will OUR life be better if we reach this goal? Research in human behavior indicates that changes are more likely to be permanent if we are able to identify how we will benefit from making a change. It can be very motivating to recognize that we will be able to retire a few years sooner if we save \u201cX\u201d amount each year.<\/p>\n If feelings of guilt or shame are the primary motivation for our resolution, then we are less likely to be successful. Guilt about being overweight, in debt or a smoker does not promote healthy, long-term behavior changes.<\/p>\n How can we be SUCCESSFUL with our New Year\u2019s Resolutions?<\/span><\/p>\n We need to select ONE specific and realistic goal that is truly meaningful to us. From there, we need to write down a plan on how we will accomplish that goal and how we will measure our progress towards that goal. As we take a small step each day towards that goal, we also need to be flexible enough to accommodate those unexpected events in our life that may derail us a little bit from our goal. Most of all, we need to be KIND to ourselves as we adjust to a new routine and allow ourselves to grow into a new way of living.<\/p>\n Best wishes of happiness and success in the 2015!<\/p>\n Dana Nolan Every January my local gym has an influx of new members and becomes crowded to the point that I have to wait in line to use the exercise machines. However, I\u2019ve noticed that the crowds thin out considerably after a few weeks. Why does this happen? I believe that people have the best intentions when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[13,8,11,4,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions\/244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nLicensed Mental Health Counselor
\nHealthy Living Counseling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"