Don’t Fail Yourself in 2014
Every year, throngs of people set new years resolutions only to fail by February at best. Why is this? What can you do to keep your new years resolutions throughout the whole year? Dr. LeslieBeth Wish, ED.D, MSS, gives some insights on setting new years resolutions and keeping them.
“First” she says, “ Lets explore why resolutions are so hard to keep. We like pleasure. Our brains are wired for survival. As a result, we tend to like sweet foods and foods that smell good because, in part, our ancestors learned that bitter and foul-smelling foods are toxic. Also, we like mastery. Our ancestors had to survive because we had to master things such as hunting and killing animals. Nowadays, we don’t have to do that. So when something isn’t easy to master, we tend to give up.”
Also, our pleasures become habits. One of the most common goals set at new years is some sort of weight loss-diet-exercise plan, and the biggest undoing of that is eating things that taste good. Dr. Wish says “Your brain makes neural connections with past and present experiences that gave you good feelings. If eating a bag of chocolates or betting on the ponies makes you feel happy, sated and powerful, then you are likely to select these activities whenever you are not so happy. Your genetics, personality, family adaptive styles and your life experiences all conspire to keep you doing what you often shouldn't be doing-or at least not doing so much.”
Keeping Our Habits
Obviously, these are only a few reasons why we break our habits. But if we can learn how to sustain them, we will have much more success if we really want to. Dr. Wish gives us some tips for keeping our habits.
1. Break Up the Overall Goal Into Smaller Chunks
“Alcoholics Anonymous recommends "taking one day at a time." You might even have to take it one hour at a time. Eventually, you will be able to check your progress daily and then weekly. And don't get down on yourself if you experience a setback. Or, I should say when you have a setback. Remind yourself that progress is often in fits and starts. Forgive yourself and get back on track right away.”
2. Don’t Do It Alone
Accomplishing goals is best done with a friend. Or even five friends. The reason programs like Alcoholics Anonymous or Weight Watchers are so successful is because of the emotional support the group dynamic can provide. Setting a goal with a friend will hold you accountable to each other and allow you to share with each other thing that work and things that don’t.
3. Identify Your Triggers
Dr. Wish says “Often, there is something that sparks your unwanted behavior. For example, people who are trying to quit smoking are often told to give up spicy foods which can stimulate the desire to smoke. Think about your unwanted behavior and ask yourself: What prompted me to eat that half a cake or smoke another pack of cigarettes?”
This is not an all inclusive guide to keeping goals that you’ve set for yourself. But it is a start. Research other tips for setting and keeping goals, find things that work for you, and stay motivated.