I know that many of you have made some New Years resolutions already. However, before you lead yourself down a path of disappointment and guilt, let’s make sure that your resolutions are realistic and achievable!
What NOT to Do When it Comes to New Years Resolutions
Unrealistic resolutions are the biggest threat to your confidence this year! Making unrealistic resolutions means that you are most likely not going to be able to keep them.
When resolutions aren’t met, the emotional consequences of failure
are remembered and guilt builds up. Often, this failure can be the
biggest barrier to reaching future goals.
Examples of bad New Years resolutions include:
- I will exercise 30 minutes every day. (You have no room for error on this one!)
- I will stop eating junk food. (This isn’t possible, and how do you define “junk food”?)
I don’t want to discourage you from making resolutions at all. It’s a little late for that anyway! January is a great time to take advantage of your extra motivation, and you want to make sure that you can turn that motivation into a long term habit.
Here are some suggestions for making achievable resolutions:
1. You will need to keep track of progress. Use a calendar, ipod or notebook to keep track.
2. Break your larger goals into smaller weekly goals.
3. Don’t work on more than 3 things at one time. You will get lost in all your to-do’s!
Achievable Resolutions:
1. I will walk 2 times a day this week.
2. I will eat fruit with breakfast 5 times this week.
3. I will train the dog 3 times a day (can you tell I just got a new puppy??).
These are some things to get you started. Feel free to comment back on the website and let us know what resolutions you have made!
Happy and Healthy 2009!
– Julie
