LITTLE ROCK — Resolutions, schmesolutions!
Tuesday is the first day of the new year. Have you made resolutions? In past years, I’ve always resolved not to make a resolution. And that has been working just fine.
According to the website USA.gov, which provides consumer advice from experts at the National Institutes of Health and the federal Department of Health and Human Services, the same resolutions are made every year by thousands across the country.
What I appreciate about this site is that for each listed resolution, there are suggested solutions. If you want to eat better, the site links you to ChooseMyPlate.gov, which offers advice on food and nutrition.
Want to quit smoking? You’ll be sent to SmokeFree.gov.
Need to manage debt? The Federal Trade Commission (consumer.ftc.gov) offers a wealth of information about budgeting, debt relief, money and credit.
You get the picture.
But once we’ve made the resolutions, all the information in the world won’t help if we don’t carry through.
STEP BY STEP
I also searched the Diabetes.org website for New Year’s resolutions. According to an article in the December Diabetes Forecast magazine posted there, a 2007 survey of 3,000 people found that 88 percent failed to carry out their resolutions, and the main problem seems to be that they don’t plan ahead.
While setting a goal may sound like an easy thing, the article says that “when psychologists mention goal setting, they’re talking about a process, and navigating that process divides the successes from the failures.”
Hmm. I’ve never thought of it that way. Just coming up with a resolution isn’t enough. We have to consider what we’re going to do to make it work.
Here’s some of what I read:
Make the resolution matter. Become invested in it by seeing a specific benefit that really means a lot to you.For example, choosing to lose weight to be more active with your grandchildren may work better than the loftier “so you won’t get heart disease” goal. Personalizing anything makes it mean more, I think.
Brainstorm all options. Come up with five to six issues to tackle, start with the easiest one, then brainstorm as many solutions as possible. If we come up with a goal and solution then pick a plan of action, we may be more likely to follow through.
Set sensible targets. There’s nothing wrong with having ambition, but realistic goals can boost confidence. If we have goals that are too big or generic, we can get discouraged. Smaller goals for things we can do will make you feel like you’ve accomplished something.
Go into specifics. Define a goal that matters to you.
Break it down. Take baby steps that add up over time. Meet a goal then progress forward. If you don’t reach the goal, figure out what went wrong, set a new goal and try again.
Pick a deadline. We need adequate time to finish the task, but not so long thatwe lose interest.
Ask for help. You might have an honest conversation with your doctor about your current habits, then allow him to help hold you accountable.
Find cheerleaders. Enlist friends and family to cheer on your progress, and give you support and motivation. If you don’t have cheerleaders, look online. There are communities and support groups full of strangers who can be very encouraging. Just stay away from creepy sites.
Anticipate barriers. Think through how you will deal with them and make plans for obstacles that may come up. Some circumstances are unforeseen, but we shouldn’t let them get us off track.
Reward yourself (my favorite). For many, the idea of a reward increases motivation. But many experts agree that food should never be offered as a reward.
Keep going. We have to realize that life is filled with successes and failures, but no matter how hard or far we fall, we have to pick ourselves up, reflect on what happened, then start again.
RESOLVED
I have decided that this year I will make a resolution to work toward better overall health through my eating and activity. Then I’ll make a second resolution that says I won’t beat myself up if I don’t follow through with the first.
And all this will be done with an eye toward healing my broken foot safely, while working to find outlets of activity and exercise that won’t cause pain or possible re-injury.
Will I stumble from time to time? You bet. But the main thing is not letting one bad day or event sidetrack me.
And just because some of us plan to start the new year off wisely, it probably doesn’t mean we should go hog wild this evening with celebrations that embrace our negative behaviors. I’ll admit it sounds like fun, but waking up the next day feeling like something the cat dragged in has its downside too.
So enjoy your celebrations, eat some black-eyed peas for good luck and start planning.
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ActiveStyle, Pages 24 on 12/31/2012