Today is the last day of 2013 and the day we choose to fulfill an old and odd tradition: making a New Year’s resolution. Why do people do this? Have you made one? Will you keep it??
Current Events
For those of us who have been wanting to lose weight, or start exercising, or stop smoking, or be a better person, etc., the start of a brand new year has always seemed like the perfect time to implement our list of self-improvement promises. It’s a new month and a new year, so it seems like the perfect time to start fresh with a clean slate, right? Hmmm… not so fast, since a New Year’s resolution is frequently a bit unrealistic.
To stop any long term habit cold turkey is often impossible to maintain. To begin your New Year’s resolution at the click of a clock is pretty much a recipe for failure. People who have been overeating or chain smoking for years will often wolf down an entire cake or smoke a carton of cigarettes right up to the stroke of midnight, then think that as the clock strikes 12 they have magically gained the will power they’ve been lacking all year to cease their bad habit(s). Insanity!
Current Events
If you’ve decided there is a habit you wish to kick from your life, why wait until the new year? Why try to go it cold turkey? Be smart about self-improvement with these tips to help you with your resolutions:
1.) STOP MAKING NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS –
Giving yourself a self-imposed deadline on a night when you’re likely drinking, smoking, eating and partying with friends is unrealistic and the fastest route to failure. Don’t wait for January 1st. Start your resolution on whatever day of the year you feel you can be the most successful.
2.) BE REALISTIC –
Stop creating deadlines, or giving yourself unrealistic goals. For example, promising to lose 20 pounds by starvation before next week’s high school reunion is just not possible. Resolve to complete your self-improvement goal in a realistic time and manner.
3.) DON’T GO COLD TURKEY –
Unless you’re a magic genie with mystical powers, believing you can turn off a 10 year habit with just the flip of a switch at the stroke of midnight is idiotic. If your habit were that easy to stop, you wouldn’t have needed to wait until the new year. Start slow and trail off from your habit gradually, to prevent your body from experiencing heavy withdrawal.
4.) CREATE A GAME PLAN –
Don’t just wing it — create a REALISTIC game plan. Tell yourself to cut back on your habit a little each day or week, until you’ve reached your goal. For example, instead of eating a box of cookies per day, maybe eat 2/3rds of a box, then half a box, then 1/4 of a box, etc., until you’re down to the place you want to be. Also, don’t discount the need for assistance in implementing your “kick the habit” resolution. Ask family and friends for help, or consider seeing your doctor for help with certain habits. His/her recommendation for a smoking patch or an appetite suppressant, etc. could be the deciding factor between success and failure.
5.) DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP –
If you begin a self-improvement resolution then fall off the wagon one day, all is not lost just because you didn’t remain perfect from January 1st. If you’ve promised to quit smoking and have been without a cigarette for 3 months, then one day you smoke 3 of them in a binge, don’t get down on yourself. Remember, we are human and we make mistakes. If you fall off the wagon, just remember the old children’s tune: “Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again.”
Scrapping the concept of January 1st resolutions, ending self-imposed deadlines and keeping your goals realistic and within reach is your best bet for a successful New Year’s resolution and a new you.
