New Years Resolutions...
It’s
a sad fact, but statistically, a quarter of people who make a New Years
resolution this year, won’t even make it to the end of the first week of
January. Furthermore, by this time next year, 6 out of every 7 New Years
resolutions will have long since been abandoned L
New
Year’s resolutions have been around a long time. Some of us make them
half-heartedly, some of us do it with great purpose, but only a select few of
us actually achieve our goals by the end of the year.
Maybe it’s because making
resolutions just after the festive holidays is just unfortunate bad timing,
what with our tendencies to overindulge, overspend, and generally let the chips
fall where they may. Or maybe it’s because we are completely unrealistic or too
vague with our resolutions.
Here’s
a brief look at the top 5 health-related New Year blunders…
1. Join a Gym
Ah,
the January gym membership. We all know how that one turns out…!!
Gyms
are brimming with activity in January, but not so much come April. It’s an
expensive lesson.
If
you really want to exercise, make a long-term plan. Begin with walking or other
easy or moderate exercises that you can do in your home or around your
neighborhood. Gradually increase
your exercise level and stick to your long-term plan. If by April, you’re still
at it, you may be ready for that gym membership after all.
The
key is to carefully investigate the details and consequences of gym membership,
so you can work-out how well it will fit into your life.
2. Go on a Diet
The
problem with “going on a diet” is that
you’re setting yourself up for failure. Unless your doctor has recommended a
very specific diet for a health condition, you should just forget about strict
or fad diets because eventually, you’re bound to stray, feel like a failure,
the anguish of which will likely cause you eat even more!
Instead
of a “diet”, think more about eating
to optimise your health and wellbeing, and think about it as an on-going life-style, not something with
an expiry date. Even if a specific weight or size is your ultimate goal, a clear
idea in your mind of the type of life-style you’d ideally love to be leading,
will significantly reduce that temptation to go back to your old ways once you
reach your desired weight.
3. Plan Ahead and Get Organised
Don’t
we all want to be more organised? If you’ve let this one go too long, the
prospect of tidying everything up can seem totally overwhelming. That’s why so
many people begin with the best intentions but give up in frustration.
Break
this resolution into stages. What needs organisation? Your car…your home…your
office? Break each down into manageable segments and give yourself a time limit
for each.
For
example, if your house is a mess, make a list of each room. If you need to,
break each room down into smaller segments. Perhaps start with the box room, a
wardrobe or a chest of drawers. Set small goals so you can gauge results.
The
key is to make a start on a task
that will be completed fairly quickly. From there, you can begin to sense your
progress immediately, which will help you build momentum. This just might give
you the incentive and the motivation you need to continue on your quest.
4. Stop Being Stressed
Stress
is part of life, so we cannot hope to eliminate all stress. However, we can learn to eliminate some unnecessary
stresses in our lives and to manage others better, but just wishing it doesn’t
make it happen.
Identify
your key stresses. If they can be avoided by simply NOT doing something, perhaps
it’s time to cut those things out of your life. If that’s not an option, make a
firm commitment to yourself to learn how to manage those stresses and keep them
in perspective.
Some
popular stress reducers are:
- Physical exercise
- Massage
- Meditation
- Breathing exercises
- Yoga
- Martial arts like tai chi
- Music
- Hypnosis
Excess
stress can often lead to disrupted or poor quality sleep, which in turn affects
our weight, mood, energy levels, focus, concentration, enhanced cravings,
productivity… do I need to go on?
There’s
no other activity that gives you SO many benefits for SO little effort than
getting a good nights sleep.
Setting
yourself time-slots during the day, so that you can engage in some sort of
stress relieving activity on a regular basis, will boost your sense of
wellbeing and will likely become your greatest asset in helping you in
achieving ALL your other resolutions
5. Stop Smoking/Drinking
Have
you made this resolution before? Deeply engrained or physically addictive
habits are hard to break and it often takes several tries. If you messed this
one up before, it doesn’t mean you have failed. It only means you have to begin
again, right now.
Whether
it’s smoking, drinking, or some other bad habit, it’s a good idea to quit and
you certainly don’t need a new year’s resolution to do it.
Putting
things off until the start of the New Year or any other date for that matter,
tricks us into believing we’ve actually made a firm commitment to ending that
habit, once and for all.
Convincing
yourself into thinking it’s all going to change on the first of January is a cruel illusion. Nothing will really change and once you've used-up your initial burst of well-meaning will-power, the habit will be back.
What life-changing goals do
you desire most of all for yourself next year, and what does reaching those
goals really mean to you..??
If you’re new to hypnosis, let
me open your eyes to what’s really
possible for you in 2017, we’ll create the clearest and most exciting 2017
goals for you, then energise you with all the will-power, focus and motivation
you could ever wish for to successfully follow them through.
Your very
first step is to drop me an email HERE, I’d love to hear from you.
Let’s make it happen..!!
Very best wishes
Tony Schofield
Tony Schofield
