Making and Keeping Resolutions

According to a variety of websites, these are the top  New Year's Resolutions.

1. Kicking the smoking habit
   
2. Becoming more fit
   
3. Losing weight
   
4. Get more enjoyment out of life
   
5. Quit drinking
   
6. Get more organized
   
7. Learn something new
   
8. Spend more time with the family
   
9. Help people
   
10. Get out of debt
    

Do these sound familiar?  Many of you have probably made these same  resolutions in the past.  Some years they may have stuck, but some they inevitably failed. Here is some advice on how to keep the goals you set for yourself for the upcoming year.

Learn from your mistakes. If you break a resolution, ask yourself why and then make adjustments in order to better keep it.

Keep it real. Don't give yourself impossible expectations. Instead of saying you're going to quit drinking, tell yourself you're going to cut back. Or instead of promising yourself to go to the gym five days a week, just say you're going to get more exercise.  Feeling overwhelmed with your goals makes it easy to quit on them.

Share. Don't keep your resolutions to yourself. Tell a friend. This will make you more accountable while also giving you someone who could nudge you in the right direction from time to time.

Mean what you say. Make resolutions than hold weight for you. If it's not something you truly desire or want to accomplish you'll lack the motivation to do so.

Put one foot in front of the other. If you want to lose weight, don't try to lose it all as fast as you can. Start by joining a weight loss program and sticking with it. Or if you want to help people, don't start giving away all your worldly belongings and emptying your bank account. Contact a local charitable organization and find out how to get involved.

Look to the future. Think of where you'd like to be a few years down the road. Do your goals bring you closer to that vision? If they do, they may be easier to keep.

Accentuate the positive. Tell yourself you will eat healthy instead of saying you will NOT eat unhealthy. I will save money rather than I will STOP spending. It's easier to add behaviors to your life then deprive yourself of them. 

Keep your resolutions in a prominent place where they become daily affirmations for you. Post them as a screen saver, or wall paper on your computer. Print them out and place them on a bulletin board or on your refrigerator. That way you will be reminded daily of the goals you want to achieve throughout the year.

Reward yourself. Give yourself a small reward for sticking with your goals. Maybe plan  to treat yourself monthly to something that also won't interfere with keeping your resolutions, a movie, a pedicure, or a massage.

Good luck with all you set to achieve in the upcoming year.

Your friends at MBC 

Sources:

About.com 
University of Maryland Medical Center