The Secret to Sustainable Life Changes: Just In Time to Save Your Resolution

Are you among the 25% who abandoned their New Year’s Resolution after one week, the 75% percent holding strong, or the 45%, who didn’t even bother to make one?

If you are among the 75% whose resolution is still alive, you probably think that your willpower will carry you through. Although self-control can often time produce success, studies show that relying on willpower alone does not produce sustainable change. Many people successfully lose weight with willpower. However, 95% gain it back and some! And, the average person makes the same resolution at least ten times during their lifetime.

Stats on New Year’s Resolutions show sixty percent don’t make it past six months. Does that mean that New Year’s Resolutions are bad? No, the fact of the matter is, people who make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who do not.

Making a New Year’s Resolution is a good start to achieve your goal.  Some say, “I don’t like making Resolutions." To that I say, call it what you like, just call out the goal, and now is as good as time as any.

The best way to create positive change in your life is to first have a stated goal and not to rely solely on willpower; willpower is too easily compromised. Uncontrollable stress often times destroys willpower, which is why when people are stressed they often break their diet or reach for that cigarette or drink - - - when they had been doing so well. The more new behaviors rely on willpower alone, the greater the likelihood of failure. The more automatic behaviors are, the better the chance of maintaining them, even under pressure or stress. The trick is to make those new desired behaviors a habit, an action that is performed without conscious effort. Habits are created with regularity and frequency.

1. Make, revive or reaffirm your resolution for 2012. Remember, you are ten times more likely to achieve a goal if you make a resolution, then if you don’t.

2. Limited new behaviors to no more than two at a time. Start small and build. You will need willpower in the beginning, and since willpower is venerable and requires high energy and focus, you don’t want to tax your willpower with multiple projects at one time.

3. Create a ritual around new behavior. 

• Replace bad habits with new behaviors. For example, if you always smoke a cigarette after a meal, try taking a five-minute walk or do some breathing exercises instead.
• When starting a new behavior, create a specific time and day for it. And if you can tie it to a good habit you already have, all the better. For example, if your goal is to get to the gym more, schedule your gym time for specific days and time, i.e. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7am (before work). If your goal is better money management, create a “Money Day” and set aside a specific block of time for it. i.e. every Sunday morning before reading the Sunday paper or before church.

4. Reevaluate your goals from time to time. You will want to review new behavior from time to time to make sure it is still relevant and serving the purpose why you wanted to start it to begin with. Plus, you need to mix it up a bit so that you don’t become bored with it. For example, you might want to change the type of exercise you are doing to keep it interesting or to provide new challenges for your heart and muscles. You may now have control over your debt and want to shift your focus to building wealth.

You can read more health, fitness and lifestyle tips on the Alturnative Fitness website. Join us on Wednesday at 2pm for a free webinar, "Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time."  Login and learn from your home or office. Click here to register now. Space is limited.