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Don't Set New Years Resolutions

Guest post by: Tim Brownson

Article Overview: Millions of people will be setting new years resolutions at this time of year and the vast majority will fail. Here is the reason why and what you can do about it to help you succeed in 2011.

Don't Set New Years Resolutions

I once saw a stat that suggested over 70% of people set at least one New Year Resolution per year.

Unfortunately though, the vast majority of these good intentions disappear before the guy next door has packed up his giant inflatable reindeer and unplugged the Pink Floyd light show he liked to call his Christmas decorations.

The problem with New Years Resolutions is that people, quite understandably, decide on them during the holiday season.

When we think of resolutions we immediately imagine goals like quitting smoking, losing weight, eating more healthily, exercising regularly etc.

All of those require willpower and willpower is a finite and fluctuating resource.

It literally requires huge amounts of physical and mental energy.

That’s the reason why if you are tired or run down you’re far more likely to yield to temptation than if you are bright eyed and bushy tailed.

It’s also the reason why people may resist temptation for days on end, but eventually get worn down and cave in when they think they may be over the hump.

They simply run out of will power.

As Human Beings we are awful at accurately judging how we’ll feel about something in the future.

What we typically do, is transpose how we feel now onto a later date, and presume (often incorrectly) that’s how we will feel then.

Imagine you’ve just finished a huge holiday meal not 10 minutes ago. As you are slouching on the sofa and preparing to release the pressure by undoing the top button on your pants your partner asks “What’s for dinner tomorrow?”

What do you think your response will be?

You’ll probably be aghast and respond with disgust saying something like,

“Are you kidding me? I can’t imagine eating another thing this week!”

And there will be an element of truth in that. You literally cannot imagine it because your brain won’t let you. However, the reality is, you will be ravenous within 24 hours and by then easily able to envision eating a small horse.

During the holiday season we tend to feel better about ourselves and those around us and thus presume changing behavior will be relatively straight forward. But what we haven’t taken into consideration is the low that may well follow the high of the holidays.

The poor weather, credit card bills arriving, family leaving after the holidays, stepping on the scales and seeing the weight has gone up more than you expected, going back to a job you hate etc can all lead to a lowering of mood and thus a reduction in available willpower.

So what can you do about this to increase your likelihood of succeeding?

You can hold off two or three weeks until you are into the flow of the new year. By avoiding rushing to set resolutions when you may be experiencing an artificial high, you’re far more likely to pick goals you really want and ones you will stick with.

You could also hire a Life Coach to work with you and make the process exponentially easier!

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Article Tags: goal setting, golas, life coach, life coaching, new years resolutions, will power



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