CREATE CHANGE THAT LASTS
ARE YOUR NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS JUST SETTING YOU UP TO FAIL? THIS IS THE SECRET TO DEVELOPING HEALTHY HABITS THAT STICK
As the first days of 2019 tick over, a crazy amount of New Year’s resolutions have already morphed into dissolutions. Losing weight, eating healthy, quitting drinking or exercising more are ridiculous resolutions without firm strategies at the helm.
I discovered long ago I’m an anti-resolutionist (is there such a word?). Yep, no New Year’s resolutions around here. I prefer to bundle up a whole heap of small, positive behaviours that help maintain a consistent level of goodness throughout the year. The problem I find with creating specific goals is that they give us an endpoint. I’m sure you all know the feeling of post goal comedown — that heavy cloud that leaves us without direction or purpose, especially if the goal wasn’t met.
New Year’s resolutions are about trying to break habits, which is hard, but certainly not impossible. We’re led to believe we need to rely on willpower (if you’re a regular reader you will know this isn’t true). The very moment the holidays are over, life returns to normal and undealt with stress, tiredness and constant decision-making enters the picture … groan, failure presents itself and “I can’t change” mentality repeats itself on autoplay.
Feeling trapped by a behaviour can leave us without hope, but the good news is it’s possible to break free, not by learning new habits but by knowing what you want.
A certain level of self-control is necessary to do anything that’s new. This takes time, patience and persistence. The more a path is worn, the higher chance of success it has to leave an imprint and take form. Here are three things to do now to instigate habit change:
1. PAY ATTENTION
Mindfulness is so 2018, so call it what you want — bringing awareness, in the moment, being present. Nothing is going to change until you face your current situation. Do you eat without paying attention because it’s a way of not admitting you’re eating a particular food? Perhaps bingeing doesn’t count if no one can see you?
2. FIND SOMETHING YOU LOVE
It is important to find something you enjoy doing rather than doing something because you feel you have to. Recent studies show that when a new behaviour is started, certain areas of the brain light up. To keep this area lit up and firing (which helps create new neural pathways), there needs to be a reward. Feel-good hormones such as dopamine and serotonin keep us coming back for more and increase the likelihood of forming a new habit.
3. KEEP THINGS SIMPLE
Overthinking leads to paralysis by analysis. With so much information in society today, it’s so easy to get caught up in everyone else’s business. Remember what worked for one person is not going to work for another. Take your personal values and beliefs into account and use your own instinct for what is right for you. If you’re struggling with creating change, remove temptations and you’re instantly removing the need for willpower. Reign things back and keep it simple for a couple of weeks. It’ll beat any crazy diet out there.
“NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE UNTIL YOU FACE YOUR CURRENT SITUATION.”