Have you stopped and looked at your calendar, your watch or your phone lately? What do you see? We are now in July, seventh months past the day you made those lovely New Year’s Resolutions. Are you still struggling to get on track with your health goals? Do you feel like you have failed? Maybe you have – so far, but that doesn’t have to be the end of your efforts. You can still achieve the level of fitness you desire. Before we go any further, let’s look at some of the reasons you are not yet where you want to be at this time of year.
• High motivation with no real plan. Those New Year’s Resolutions don’t come with instructions. We can easily say, “I’m going to lose 20 pounds this year”, but that’s only the first step. To stay motivated, you need a detailed plan and often expert advice to be more likely to succeed.
• Setting unrealistic goals. Often we set unrealistic goals, such as going cold turkey from smoking or losing 50 pounds in 6 months. We sometimes set multiple resolutions that have nothing in common (like losing weight and getting out of debt) expecting to accomplish them all simultaneously. We set our expectations too high.
• Being too tough on ourselves. We have big expectations for ourselves, and then end up having an even bigger disappointment when our progress is slower than we expected or we have an occasional setback. This can cause you to give up.
• Lack of support or accountability. Trying to stay motivated on your own is tough. We’re social beings. We do better trying to reach a goal when we have support and are being held accountable for what we do. If no one knows you’re on a diet and fast food isn’t on your approved menu, the only thing keeping you away from the fast food lane is your own self-control.
Now you know what causes you to fail at your New Year’s resolutions. Making them work involves changing your behavior, setting realistic goals, having a system for reaching the goal, and having others hold you accountable. Do you think you can do that all by yourself? Maybe not. Why not let me help you? With eighteen years’ experience as an occupational therapist, I possess the knowledge and skills to help you take control of your life and achieve your goals. Just fill in the form below to schedule a free consultation.
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