How Are Your New Year Resolutions Going…Going…Gone?

“This year I’m going to do it! I’m going to lose weight and get in shape.”  Sound familiar?  It should. Studies have shown that approximately two-thirds of all Americans make New Year Resolutions – but less than 25 percent of them actually see them through to completion…

Franklin Covey, released the results of its third annual New Year’s Resolutions Survey, which polled 15,031 customers in time for January 1, 2008.According to the survey, the top three goals were to get out of debt or save money, lose weight and develop a healthy habit such as exercising or healthy eating.

The survey found that 35 percent of respondents broke their New Year’s resolutions by the end of January, while only 23 percent of those surveyed didn’t break them. Nearly 40 percent of those surveyed attribute breaking their resolutions to having too many other things to do, while 33 percent say they are not committed to the resolutions they set.

So why bother making them, then?  Good question!

First, let’s start out on the right foot by removing the word, “resolution” from our vocabulary, shall we?  It lacks meaning and conviction.  Instead, let’s refer to our commitments as goals.  Goals are something you aim for, and work towards on an ongoing basis. You can breakdown goals into smaller, achievable milestones; resolutions you can’t.

Whether your desire is to lose weight, get in shape, start eating better, quit smoking, start saving money or whatever, having a life altering goal is a good thing - a really good thing.  But in order to be successful, and to achieve your desired outcome, you have to start your journey with the right mindset and the right set of tools. 

THE RIGHT MINDSET

Excuses be gone!  If you only get one thing out of this article, understand this … you are completely in control of the outcome of your goal.  You cannot look to others to make it happen for you.  You must be willing to make it happen for yourself. The question is, is your goal important enough for you to take on such a responsibility, or will you simply blame everything and everyone if you fail?  Hmmmm….

If you agreed with the first half of that question and have accepted responsibility for your well-being, then you have the right mindset.  Before creating any goal, you must be fully committed to seeing it through to completion.  You don’t have to know exactly how you are going to do it, but you must be determined to make the change no matter what. 

If you’re still convinced that other persons, places or things are what will determine the outcome of your goal, then quit reading now.  You will simply be wasting your time here.

THE RIGHT SET OF TOOLS

If you’ve any other posts on this site, you will know that I am very passionate about two things: gratitude and goal setting.   So much so that I have even written a book titled, Gratitude and Goals, which explains the correlation between gratitude and goal setting and why the combination of the two are virtually imperative to any kind of success.

Start any goal by first being grateful for what you have to work with.  For example, if you wanted to lose 20 pounds you might make the following statement:

“Thank you (God) for my potential to lose weight.  I know that with time, patience and committed effort I will achieve my goal.” 

The point of this exercise is to help you realize the tools you do have to work with: your potential, time, patience and actualization of the goal with committed effort.  It takes your mind out of the negative, shifting your focus away from the feelings you may have now about your body and the excuses of what you can’t do and into the positive – on what you can do. 

If every time you look in the mirror all you see is a bloated version of what used to be, you’ve probably lost that confident, sexy feeling you once had.  Understanding that you possess the power and the potential to get back to your “sexiness” will help you get started.  Gratitude will give you that.  But gratitude isn’t this one-off type of thing that you write down and then forget about.  It is an ongoing practice that will completely change the way you feel and act in the world.  In order to keep that feeling gratitude, write it down (in a daily gratitude journal, possibly) or use it as a daily affirmation.

SET GOALS

To say that you want to lose weight is not enough.  In order for you to achieve your goal, you must first know what it is you are trying to achieve, agreed?  So, before you go off and get one of those “buy now, pay later” gym memberships, become clear about what you want to achieve. Determine exactly how much weight (pounds) you want to lose and when you want to lose it by (date).

Next, take a step back and really look at your goal.  Is it attainable for you? If you say you want to lose 20 pounds in 4 months, you know that you will need to lose 5 pounds per month or 1.25 pounds per week in order to be successful.  That is a very realistic goal for most people, but is that something you feel confident you can do?  Maybe you have special circumstances that make healthy eating and exercise next to impossible.  If so, then you will need to adjust your goal so that it is attainable. Make it something you can realistically and (somewhat) comfortably accomplish.  The last thing you want is to become discouraged at the first inkling of failure and quit, which is what most people do!

Create a goal and then develop smaller short term (weekly) and daily goals to help you achieve it.  Daily goals can even be broken down into actions steps which you will need to accomplish throughout the day in order to meet your daily goal.  For example:

Goal:  To lose 20 pounds by May 1^st, 2010

Short term goal: Lose 1.25 pound this week; go to the gym 3 times for 1 hour.

Daily goal: Drink 8-8oz glasses of water, eat 5 servings each of fruit and vegetables. Go to the gym.

Action Steps: Drink one glass of water at breakfast, one at 9 a.m, 11 a.m, 1 p.m, 3 p.m, 5p.m, one during my workout and one right afterwards.  Eat 2 fruits at breakfast, one at morning snack and two for dessert. Eat two vegetables at lunch, one at afternoon snack and two with dinner. Workout after work at 5:30p.m (30 mins cardio and 30 mins weights).

MAKE IT PART OF YOUR LIFE

Track your progress by writing the numbers (pounds lost, glasses of water you drank, miles you walked, cigarettes you did/didn’t smoke) down on a calendar or in a journal. Be proud of your victories even if you don’t hit your ideal target.  Success breeds success. Any progress is good so don’t give up!

A long-term study by the University of Washington found that only 40 percent of people who stick to their resolution did it on the first try. The rest had to try multiple times; 17 percent finally reached their goal after more than six attempts.

Forget New Years Resolutions!  And forget waiting until Monday to start anything new.  Anytime, is the best time to make a positive change in the way you live your life. Even if its 2 p.m and you just gorged yourself at McDonald’s; if you’re feeling like it’s time to take control of your health and fitness, then right NOW – this moment- is as good as any to start.  Make your next meal a healthy one.

Keep up the good work by turning your goal into a habit.  Let’s say you do lose the 20 pounds you were aiming for.  Now what?   You can’t exactly go back to eating french fries for dinner every day if you want to stay healthy and slim, now can you?  There is no sense in setting a goal of any kind unless you stick with it for the long run.  If you like the results you received, then don’t stop now just because you achieved your goal, or you’ll just end up Googling “how to lose weight (save money, quit smoking, etc.)” again next year.  And after all that hard work?  What a waste of time and energy!

There’s no harm in setting some new, bigger and more exciting goals to work towards.  What’s the worst thing that could happen?  You might become successful in all areas of your life?  That would suck, eh?

No… what would really suck is if you gave up trying! 

No pain, no gain as they say.