3 Simple Steps For a ReNEWed You

So, you want to lose a few pounds, eat healthier, cook more, start a meditation or yoga practice or feel more centered and empowered this New Year, don’t you?  Tis the season for resolutions, but have you ever wondered why it is so hard to stick to your goals after a couple of weeks go by? Could the solution be simply a matter of HOW you approach your ambitions? Whatever your goal may be, here’s what you need to know about how to successfully create lasting changes.

Pick Just One Goal & Ask Yourself Why

Don’t go all or nothing on me and try to change everything all at once.  It won’t work and you’ll soon be back at square one with nothing to show for yourself.  After choosing one goal to work on, then ask yourself why and what you are expecting to be different in your life with this change. Be sure to write these down as experts say connecting to what motivates you will help to create long-lasting change.

Make an Unquestionably Achievable Goal

Another important piece of the behavior change puzzle is to ensure you have successes along the way.  The changes and progress towards your goal has to be small and attainable to build momentum and self-efficacy.  You have to be CERTAIN YOU CAN SUCCEED WIH ZERO DOUBT in your mind.  Otherwise you will be setting yourself up for failure.  So if planning to cook more and eat healthier start simple and practical and then build from there, as I promise you success is never built in a day.  In fact, Research shows it takes 66-90 days to change a behavior and 6 months or longer to master one.  So hold your horses and say good-bye to instant gratification.

Anticipate Failure, Plan to Adapt & Revise as You Go

The path to reaching your goals is never linear!  And, the more we can accept that we are not perfect and that life will have some frustrations along the way, the greater we help ourselves to rise up quicker from our falls. It is perfectly normal to have set backs and if you plan for them and think about what you will do when they happen, you will have a plan to forgive yourself and move on.  Take each obstacle as an opportunity to learn about yourself and don’t let it derail you and your motivation.  

Also, just as root vegetables have to find their way around rocks and gravel to find nourishment and grow in the soil, know that along the way you may need to change and adapt your plan if you aren’t accomplishing what you originally had hoped.  Perhaps you were too ambitious and need to rethink a few things and doing so is perfectly ok. 

Let me know what goals you are setting for the New Year and chime in below.  But remember to follow these 3 steps to finally have what you want!