“No one wants to start the New Year and get worse during the year.” — Carmen Baehr, yoga instructor
I agree.
We all want to get “better” at some level– at least it would seem that way with all the New Year’s resolutions to:
- Lose weight
- Get fit
- Eat right
- etc.
The sad truth is that most resolutions are doomed to fail – as many as 90% fail if you believe some of the published statistics.
Why do they fail? Maybe they’re too broad, too big, too undefined, too drastic. Resolutions can fail for any number of reasons.
So rather than set a resolution that will likely fail, start a small habit.
I’ll give you an example: For me, my habit for 2011 was to stop drinking alcohol for one whole year. It was simple, well-defined action (or rather lack of action) focused on only one thing rather than trying to do many things (e.g. not drink, not each chocolate, exercise more, etc).
Believe it or not – the hardest part was making the commitment to myself not to drink. I took it one day at a time and enlisted the support of my fiancé (now wife) Krista to help keep me in check.
By the end of the month, I was confident I could keep going for the entire year. Not drinking alcohol had become a habit and became easier the longer I continued.
According experts, it takes 21 days to form a habit. We can truly can do anything for 21 days.
Pick a habit – something simple that will enable you to become “better” this year.
Write it down to make it more “real” and post the habit somewhere visible as a reminder. Make sure it’s easily measurable – either you do it or you don’t (e.g. drink or don’t drink alcohol).
Try it on for 3 weeks.
Re-evaluate after 21 days. If it doesn’t work for you, find something else.
Good luck – I know you can succeed with your new habit!
Happy New Year!
DavidB. Glover
