Resolutions...

New Years Resolutions. We make them, we break them and most of the time we stroll into February wondering why we even bothered? 

I'm not a huge fan of resolutions, especially when they're made at the turn of a new year. I'm from the school of thought that if you want to change an aspect of your life, then the right time to do it is today. Why wait for a milestone to instigate change? Life's too short! In saying that though, sometimes the idea of a new year and a fresh start is enough to get people thinking about themselves, their lives and how they want to improve them.

With resolutions often comes change, and if I'm being completely honest, change scares me a little and tends to be something I fight against, especially if it's not my idea. This year however, one of my goals is to embrace change, since it has typically proven to lead to good things, or at least uncharted territory. While scary in the beginning (and let's face it, the unknown always is), unexpected or unplanned changes tend to lead us down paths that we wouldn't have otherwise ventured, thus expanding our experiences in life.

2011 was an incredibly tough year for me, emotionally and in a 'where is my life headed' kind of way, but I also felt like I grew a lot in almost all the other areas of my life. A New Year however isn't just about identifying the things in our lives that we so desperately want to change and then making every effort to prevent them from happening again. Instead, it's a chance to add more positives into our lives too, which for me means more writing, more laughing, more coffee catch-ups with friends, more cooking, more gym sessions, more 'never befores' and more fun!

So with all that being said, one of the best gifts I received this Christmas was a book from my favourite stationary store, Kikki K, titled Goals. Goals and I work well together because when written down on paper, I find they instantly become more real, almost like a contract with yourself rather than a wish list.

My friend who gave me the gift is a rehabilitation physiotherapist and along with her clients, she sets goals all day, every day. When she presented me with the gift, she explained her theory that in order to change big things in your life, you need to take little steps first and that this book would help me achieve that. She is a cleaver girl!

 

So in the break between Christmas and New Years Eve, I sat down by the pool on one very hot Adelaide afternoon and wrote down my goals for 2012. Some were big, some were extravagant and some (listed in the 'outrageous' category) would be virtually impossible to achieve, but I did find the whole process kind of therapeutic and a great way to clear my head and define my path for the coming year.

When writing this post, I found myself reflecting on my previous resolutions and wondered why I and most of the people around me had failed in achieving them? So in my bid to better understand the human psyche and in turn make 2012 the year that I do in fact fulfil my goals, I turned to the experts for advice...

In a study written in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, approximately 50% of the population make resolutions in the New Year, but as each month passes, so does the success rate.

Among the top resolutions are weight loss, exercise, stopping smoking, better money management and debt reduction.

So, if you're going to make New Year's resolutions, here's some tips to help you make them work:

1. Focus on one resolution, rather several;
2. Set realistic, specific goals. Losing weight is not a specific goal. Losing 10 pounds in 90 days would be;
3. Don't wait till New Year's eve to make resolutions. Make it a year long process, every day;
4. Take small steps. Many people quit because the goal is too big requiring too big a step all at once;
5. Have an accountability buddy, someone close to you that you have to report to;
6. Celebrate your success between milestones. Don't wait the goal to be finally completed;
7. Focus your thinking on new behaviors and thought patterns. You have to create new neural pathways in your brain to change habits;
8. Focus on the present. What's the one thing you can do today, right now, towards your goal?
9. Be mindful. Become physically, emotionally and mentally aware of your inner state as each external event happens,moment by moment, rather than living in the past or future.
10. And finally, don't take yourself so seriously. Have fun and laugh at yourself when you slip, but don't let the slip hold you back from working at your goal.

And finally, since we're on the topic of resolutions and goals, I thought I would share an interesting approach taken by Camille Dror from the blog Camille Styles. For the past few years, she's decided to set defining Words rather than resolutions. It's a concept I'm quite fond of, but if you're anything like me, the vagueness of each word provides too much leeway for deviation. If you are however, looking to embrace a new way of challenging yourself and your will power, then this could be a great method to adopt.

 

With less than 2 weeks until February hits, I hope that you've all been able to sustain your New Years resolutions thus far and carry that momentum with you into the next few months. In sticking to my goals 20 days into the year, I have already come to realise that the first 2 weeks are always the hardest, but every other day after that gets easier and easier. My friend Crystal kept telling me that, but who knew she'd be right?