Everyone already knows you failed your New Year’s resolution. They know because they failed theirs too. Did you honestly think you were going to stop eating honey buns from the office vending machine and wake up at 5 a.m. to run a mile in the middle of winter? We all know it never works out for us. The odds, with a 92 percent failure rate for Americans, are stacked against us. And yet, we continue to make them (mine was the honey bun thing), and we continue to fail.
But don’t fret. You will always have a chance to hate yourself a little less. So reassess, take it a day at a time and next time you’re by the vending machine, get the granola bar instead.
— Compiled by David Silva
Accept setbacks
You tried to quit honey buns, and decided to do it cold turkey. You were cool for like two days and then Janet at work started stressing you out again, and you really wanted to take that honey bun break. You take it, and next thing you know, you’re smoking through honey bun packs before the week is over. That’s okay. Just accept that you slipped up, and you’re going to slip up a few more times before the year is over. A set back does not mean defeat.
Let go of the “not trying to do something” mentality
When you’re trying to give something up, the hardest way to achieve this is by thinking “I’m not going to do this” over and over again. You’ll only manage to make yourself even more miserable, and it will make your eventual downfall a steeper one. Instead, focus on committing to a substitute for what you’re trying to avoid. Avoid bad habits by creating new good habits, not by suppressing yourself.
What are you waiting for
If you fail and have to pick up the pieces or decide to go for a different resolution, don’t wait until next year. The Earth’s relative location to the Sun should not determine the motivation you have to better yourself. What are you waiting for? Start today.
Phone a friend
You can always do better when you have someone watching your back. Tell them your goals and tell them to check up on you at a specific date. They don’t have to necessarily have to be doing the same resolution as you, they can just check up on you to make sure you don’t slip up. Make sure it’s a close friend so that you feel extremely guilty when you disappoint them.
Set specific plans, then take it a day at a time
“Losing weight” is not a legitimate goal. Losing an x amount of weight by the end of the year is. Once you have your number, divide it down by months, then weeks. Make a plan on what you’re going to do this week that you can repeat or modify as time goes on. And make yourself go to the gym today, not tomorrow.
https://eastfieldnews.com/2018/01/22/video-join-the-et-cetera-student-newspaper/
