Every year millions of people commence new work out regiments, alter their diets and make ritualistic changes in bad behavior just in time for New Year's Day. Studies show that guilty feelings from holiday spending, prolonged lack of exercise and overindulgence with festive treats leads to a guilt-ridden need for change.
© Copyright 2009-2010 Tomitheos Photography - All Rights Reserved.
These feelings seem to coincide with the beginning of the New Year marking a psychological timeline to start fresh with the underlined goal of becoming a better person in the future, inside and out. However, by the first week of February most New Year's resolutions are a distant memory for most..
So how does one make the leap to a new beginning work for them?
The shift for change may be a difficult one but psychologists claim that with a few pointers, success is possible.
Firstly, something to watch for is that most people fail in their attempt for change because the human mind will rationalize with excuses that are rooted deep inside individualistic psyches so that the physical discomfort can end.
Learn how to overcome this obstacle before you even get started by examining your motivation for change. Be realistic and be vocal to your friends and family about the changes you are ready to make so that they can support you, stay away from negative people that would like to see you fail at least until you are confident in your success and strong in your lifestyle change.
Make your tasks non-negotiable and do not rationalize with yourself, for example do not rationalize that it is too early to get up for exercise, yet if it was a work related obligation it would be a non-issue. Do it regardless of how you feel about it, be aware that one can almost always find an excuse not to do something. However, if you make a non-negotiable decision that is based on a sound realistic goal you set in the first place rather than on how you feel at the moment, you will be successful.
Write down your goals, studies show that University graduates have a higher success rate of accomplishing their career goals if they had written them down. Because of our educational system's training of reading and writing, the brain retains the information better and has a better memory when the time is taken to write it down. Focus on the positive changes as a result of your behavioral shift, for example with quitting smoking, focus on the improved breathing, a smoker feels bodily sensations when the nicotine levels drop but it is a choice as to how this symptom is interpreted: symptoms can be defined as extremely unpleasant and curable by reverting back to smoking or alternatively they can be interpreted as the physical discomfort of being permanently cleansed from the drug.
Do not quit your program for change for a minor set back. If you give in to temptation, do not further the damage by using this as an excuse to abandon the whole program. Allow yourself to be imperfect, perhaps you can make it a secondary goal to learn from your mistakes and move on as this will undoubtedly ensure your success.
Start now! If you are waiting for a better time to start a behavioral change, that in itself is a behavioral change that needs to be addressed. Procrastination means it likely will not happen. It is almost never convenient to change mentally fused habits. But your need for change is the mind's own cry for help that is usually heard very late in the game. Now is just as convenient as any time. Plan your resolution(s) in advance, instead of waiting until New Year's Eve.
If you begin today rather than later, you will have a better chance of maintaining your goal and sustaining your discipline in the new year. If you cannot find a reliable friend for support at your times of weakness, use a simple CD related to your goal that will talk you through your temporary set-back and you will find success in whatever you set your mind to.
Best of L.U.C.K. (Labor Under Correct Knowledge); successfully accomplishing your goals is not by chance, it is a Science.
Remember To:
Have a strong commitment for change.
Write down a program that will help to achieve your goal(s).
Have a coping strategy to deal with set-backs that will come up.
Tell your friends, the more monitoring and feedback you have the better you will do.
