Happy New Year and welcome to 2018! What a journey it’s been;
full of laughter and tears, falls and triumphs, failures and successes. Just
like you, I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs throughout this game called
life, and just like you, I’ve made many a New Year’s resolution too.
A resolution is a firm, solemn decision to create change.
It may revolve around health and fitness, your job, your relationships, or any
other aspect of your life. But in it’s roots, it is a commitment. So why is it
that most New Year’s resolutions end up failing?
There are many
reasons people can’t stick to their resolutions, including setting overly
ambitious goals to getting derailed by small failures. Setting too many
resolutions may also make it difficult to focus on what you are trying to
achieve. Underestimating the difficulty of keeping a resolution may also be one
reason why we fail to keep them.
We’ve all been there. Starting hot out of the gates on January
1st, and finding that a few weeks later, we aren’t being accountable. Falling
off the wagon and trying to get back on is a tough process. It can be
discouraging and exhausting. Often times we just end up dropping the ball and
saying, “Next year will be my year.”
I find I hear a lot of “New Year, New Me” quotes being thrown out
around this time of year, but in a few months when I look around, I see a lot
of “New Year, Same Me’s” trudging through life.
Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to
results. It also dictates that the responsibility be placed on you, No one is
more powerful than you when it comes to achieving your goals. And guess what, no
one can do it for you. This is where it’s important to really dig deep and
understand why you are setting out to achieve these goals. It comes down to motivation.
What is motivating you?
Intrinsic motivation is when you do something because you
enjoy it or find it interesting, while extrinsic motivation is doing something
for external rewards or to avoid negative consequences. Both types of
motivation have a place in society, but studies show that people are more
likely to stick to a task, invest more time in a task, and be more successful
if they are intrinsically motivated. That means sticking to a resolution for
you, not for something or someone else.
It’s important to look at a resolution as an opportunity
rather then something hanging over your head, which is what being intrinsically
motivated will help you achieve.
Common resolutions I see revolve around health and fitness.
People committing to losing weight, eating better, quitting smoking. “What are
the reasons for these goals?” These is a good question to b asking yourself. IF
its to look better for someone else rather than to live a healthier lifestyle,
the chances are that your resolutions are more likely to fail.
But by creating sustainable change directed towards intrinsically
motivated resolutions, we can be more successful.
That leads to another vital point: sustainability.
The changes we make in order to achieve our resolutions should be
something that we can continue over a prolonged period of time. Most resolutions
require a lifestyle change, and no one can create a large change like that
without first making smaller, incremental changes. For example, if your
resolution is “losing weight” then making small changes to your daily habits
will help jump-start you on a sustainable path. On the other hand, making
drastic changes that overhaul your entire life may lead to a less successful
attempt towards meeting your goals. An example of a small change would be
taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator, or eating one plant based
meal a day. Each small step will add up to create larger change.
Change starts now. Being accountable, intrinsically motivated,
and creating sustainable changes will help you stick to your resolutions. Don’t
take a back seat towards becoming a better you.
Be a Catalyst for
change.
Dr. Danny Dulay
Chiropractor
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