Be Successful with Your New Year’s Resolutions
After the rush of Christmas has subsided, people’s thoughts
turn towards the New Year. With a
fresh year ahead, most Americans make resolutions to improve their lives in
some way. Making New Year’s resolutions is an
ancient tradition dating back to the Romans. It was Julius Caesar who officially established the Julian
calendar in 43 BC, making January first the beginning of the New Year. The Roman’s most common
resolution was to seek forgiveness from enemies of the previous year.
Today, the most popular resolutions are usually either
health related, such as losing weight, or stopping smoking or finance related
such as saving more money, or sticking to a budget. Whatever your New Year’s resolution may be, it will require
some behavior change on your part.
You can achieve your New Year’s resolutions, but it requires a conscious
effort to act in a way that is new and different. It will take time for this new behavior to feel comfortable,
but hang in there. Usually after
30-60 days the new behavior will become a part of your routine and require less
effort. Here are some tips
to successfully make positive behavior changes in the New Year.
- Chose
a resolution that is meaningful to you. It is easy to lose motivation if we are just making the
change for someone else.
- Break
your resolution down into manageable steps and then set a timeline to
complete each step. Setting
smaller goals can help your resolution feel less overwhelming. For example, having a goal of
losing 3-5 pounds/month can be more motivating than focusing on the 50
total pounds you want to lose.
- Be
accountable to yourself. Once
you have set your smaller goals and the timeline, write them on your
calendar or program them into your Blackberry or palm pilot. This will serve one, as a reminder
of what you need to do and two, allow you to mark each task as completed which
can be satisfying.
- Use
positive self-talk and affirmations.
Monitor your thoughts about your new behavior and try to keep them
positive. You also may want to write an affirmation and repeat it several
times a day or write it down and place it where you will see it on a
regular basis. An affirmation
states in a positive manner, the change we want to make. An example might be, “I am
following my budget and am able to save money for my children’s college
tuition”.
- Get
the support of your friends, loved ones and professionals. If the people around you are aware
of your resolution, they can help keep you on track. You also may want to
consider the help of a professional like a financial counselor, dietician
or personal trainer.
- Celebrate
your small achievements along the way by doing something good for
yourself.
- Be
forgiving of yourself. If you
get off track in working towards your resolution, forgive yourself and
immediately restart your new behavior. You may want to look back and determine what led you to
stop your new behavior so you can prevent it from happening again.
Changing your behavior is hard work but with the right frame
of mind you will be able to do it.
Think about the achievements in your life of which you are most
proud. Most likely they did not
come easily or without some sacrifice.
This is the same of fulfilling a New Year’s resolution. With your focused attention, hard work
and perseverance you will be able to make positive changes in 2007.
Heather Brewer is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in
private practice with Human Service Associates. She can be reached at 570-8887or hcbrewer@earthlink.net.
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