40 to 45% of American adult make one or more resolutions each year.
Among the top new years resolutions are resolutions about weight loss, exercise, and stopping to smoke. Also popular are resolutions dealing with better money management & debt reduction.
The following shows how many of these resolutions are maintained as time goes on:
- past the first week: 75%
- past 2 weeks: 71%
- after one month: 64%
- after 6 months: 46%
According to USA.gov, the nation’s official Web portal, Americans commonly resolve every January to:
- Lose Weight (we can help)
- Manage debt/save money
- Get a better job
- Get fit (we can help)
- Eat right (we can help)
- Get a better education
- Drink less alcohol
- Quit smoking
- Reduce stress overall and/or at work. (we can help)
- Take a trip
- Volunteer to help others
There is a lot of New Years Resolutions (NYR) thing a ma gigs! Right? Here is the problem with NYR’s. “Research has shown that, after six months, fewer than half the people who make New Year’s resolutions have stuck with them, and, after a year, that number declines to around ten percent” (Psychology Today Website)
Instead of a New Year’s Resolution on maybe one, two or all of the things listed, why not make a New Year’s Resolution to set goals and create a plan to follow through on those goals. See the problem with NYR’s are that you only have a year to accomplish it, and looking at the statistics many don’t even make it! Why? not sure, there are many reasons why one might not make it; however, a positive way to look at it is that at least they made the conscience effort to realize CHANGE needed to happen!
I think it is the pressure to have to finish within a year! So they say to themselves, “ok, now I have made this Resolution now I have a year”, and for whatever reason one might procrastinate and then realize this is going to be harder than they thought and they needed to start on baby steps when they first made the resolution.
That is the key you know. To make the conscience effort to change, to set a goal to change, to create the steps to change. You found the problem, now you are creating a solution to the problem in your own time! Not something set with a so called resolution for 2012.
So change is the key and the first step is to acknowledge YOU need to change certain things in your life to accomplish the goals you set. Yes there are going to be roadblocks and obstacles but this is the first step.
Roadblocks to Change!
This would include our habits ingrained in us from childbirth. You need to look for signs that might trigger these bad habits. For example, if you sometimes binge eat, why is that? is it emotional? Bored?
The Process to Change is important also.
Change is all about courage taking that step. I love this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Always do what you are afraid to do.” That is foundational in taking the next step and moving forward. and speaking of taking that next step there as to be action “Action is the foundational key to all success.” Pabo Picasso.
This is where you create the baby steps to your goals. Make sure you have clear objectives to your goal(s), identify things that work and things that are not working for you. Example, if there are people in your life that are not supporting your change, or that encourage you while you move forward then you might wan to reconsider the relationship you have with them. This leads me to the next important factor in your Journey.
Your Environment to Change:
Your environment includes who you hangout with, to what you are reading, listening too, and watching. It also includes what you buy and spend your money on. If you are trying to lose weight you can’t go to the grocery store when you are hungry or go and buy the same foods at before “because your family likes those types of food.” This doesn’t make sense. If I a drug addict I am not going to go to rehab and then go hang out where everything is shooting up or smoking out. When you make goals related to health, or becoming better you have to surround yourself with individuals and an environment that will help you succeed. We have just discussed road blocks, and you will have many but you can’t create them. You should not be your own worst enemy. That is what happens when you make decisions that will sabotage your success.
There will always be reasons why you can not change or why you shouldn’t change. Things will always happen and it depends on you if you will continue to let failure and the idea of YOU not succeeding be the reason you don’t succeed.
One thing I have learned recently from a National recognized motivational speaker is that “life and death are in the power of the tongue.” Now if you are from an upbringing within the church like myself you will say, “Trey I have heard that before”, and yes so have I. But until recently I did not know how to utilize it. I only thought about it as if we were talking to someone else, whether we life them up or bring them down with our words. However, this is not just about how we talk to or about others, it is about how we talk to ourselves, or how we talk about ourselves. You need to SPEAK the words – you can do this, you will do this! Even if you don’t believe it at first. When you speak it, and continue to speak it you will start believing it and as you continue to speak it you will be successful.
If you need help or coaching in any area, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I can help via in person, phone, or even Skype. I am here for you and helping you succeed.
God Speed
III
reasons including this one) and 
