This will finally be the year you succeed at keeping your New Year’s resolutions.
Recent research from the Journal of Psychology indicates 25 percent of people do not keep their resolutions after the first week. This is likely do to the manner in which they set those unrealistic goals.
These are the techniques I have used to personally lose over seventy pounds and motivate dramatic changes in my patients as well.
Make the journey enjoyable.
Viewing weight loss, or any goal, as a punishment for previous behavior is never the best way to attain it. Rather than seeing your resolution as a consequence of your shortcomings, view your changes in a positive light. For example, if you want to lose weight instead of attending a workout boot camp, try belly dancing or Zumba.
Set a fun goal.
Rather than simply marking a deadline on the calendar set a celebration of your success. If your goal is strength building, you could book a trapeze class (they have them in most urban cities.) To help motivate you to attend your yoga classes, set a goal of taking paddle board yoga this summer. This technique works for any resolution. The feature is for the goal to serve as motivation and reward.
Visualize your success.
A lesson from yoga that is true in all life, “where the eye goes the body follows.” It is imperative you creative mental pictures to visualize your success. This means remove any “fat” pictures from your refrigerator. They only serve to make you feel poorly about yourself, thus turning to food for comfort. Instead, create an intention board. This is a visual dream board in which you cut out pictures from magazines, or draw your own, of anything your want to achieve. Do not limit yourself. Include body images, vacations, cars, houses, fashion, or anything else you desire. In addition to an intention board in your home, consider also creating a virtual board on Pinterest.
State your success.
No matter the goal, giving yourself affirmations will help you attain it more quickly. These should be worded in a positive way, as if you have achieved the goal. Here are a few examples. Everyday I am living a healthy life. I am beautiful. I am strong. I am in control and have great self-discipline.
Make your number one resolution to be joyful.
All challenges become easier when tackled with a joyful heart. Stress is one of the main saboteurs of success. The antidote is joy. Find time to relax and be still with your thoughts each day. Give yourself permission to laugh at yourself in a good-natured manner. Look to small children for your example. Children move because it feels good, jump when excited, stop eating when satisfied, giggle uncontrollably, and live each day to the fullest.
No matter what your goal is for 2013, mapping it with positive images and affirmations while you progress on a fun adventure will make your resolutions infinitely more successful.
Happy New Year!
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Dr. Jennifer Hanes is a nationally recognized, board certified emergency and integrative medicine physician in Austin, Texas. She has lost seventy pounds, and outlines those secrets in her book, The Princess Plan. It is the only weight loss book written by a physician who has personally conquered obesity. You can connect with her at www.DrHanes.com
