New Year, New You?
You’ll see many people saying they are ready for change with the new year but most are forgotten by February.
This week you’ll see people saying things like “This year has got to be better”, “New year, new me”, or “I’m ready for change in 2019” but it is estimated that less than 10% of resolutions are successful. Why do you think that is? I have a few theories!
you didn't take into account how your resolution would affect other people
The people close to you can be a big part of your success or failure. Remember that this is YOUR resolution and they may or may not want to participate with you.
For Instance:
You resolve to start getting up an hour and a half earlier each morning to be more productive in some way. (reading your bible, smashing your workout, arriving to work early, etc) If you share a room with someone else, you may disrupt their sleep when you get up but they have no desire to wake early. Or they may say “stay just this one day.” and next thing you know you’ve hit snooze five days in a row! Discuss what you want to do with the people it may affect BEFORE you resolve to do it. Share why you want to do it and why it is important to you, even though they may not be *cheering* for you, the should be on board.
Your resolution isn't the problem, it's your method
Do you have the same resolution every year but every year you fail? You’re probably fully capable of succeeding but you approach isn’t working.
For instance:
You want to lose weight so you buy the latest, greatest, hottest program on the market every year. You have some results but when the “Challenge” is over you revert to your old ways because you never learned why you are an emotional eater, or how to overcome it. You deprived yourself of your favorite food(s) and it’s finally “okay” to eat them again.
- If buying products hasn’t been a permanent fix in the past, buying products won’t solve your problem this year.
- If trying to do it on your own hasn’t worked, you may need a coach.
- If you only know a few healthy meals, you need to add more to your selection. (Check out Finally Fit for education, meal guides, and accountability!)
You aren't ready to change your daily schedule or routines
Change is uncomfortable. Even though you’re unhappy with a current circumstance you resolved to change, it can be easier to just be content than put in the work on days you don’t feel like it.
For Instance:
You hate your job. Whether it doesn’t challenge you, they treat you like crap, or you don’t get paid enough, you probably worked hard to get into your position. You probably have built up some seniority, benefits, vacation time, relationships, etc. It’s a pain in the butt to put together a resume and it’s scary as heck to start sending it. What if you don’t get a call back? Though not a direct rejection and may not reflect upon your skillset, it’s still rejection and that sucks. There’s also a sense of security going to the same place every day to people you already have relationships with and processes you know. But when it comes down to it, you must decide if staying for thing things you don’t mind are worth sacrificing your sanity or long term goals for.
Changing too many things at once or it just being the wrong “season” of life are amongst other reasons you may have trouble sticking out a resolution all year long. I KNOW you can crush some goals in 2019! Be thoughtful and put together a realistic resolution that is achievable. Reverse-engineer or break down all of the steps necessary to reach your goal and estimate how long each step will take to find your starting place.
It’s inevitable that 2019 is going to throw you some curveballs. You’ll always be busy and the time won’t ever be right but the cool thing is that you hold the pen to your story. It’s up to you decide what’s important, then make it happen. Know why? Because if you don’t, no one else is going to do it for you.
What is your resolution or goal for 2019?
