Are you setting yourself up to fail?

Many of us start the year by making New Years Resolutions.  These may be vague such as "I want to lose weight" or more specific like "I want to lose 50 pounds this year".  Almost everyone fails to keep their resolutions.  Many fail even before the end of January.  Gyms are full of people at the beginning of the year but by February attendance has dropped off.  Of course, this year with a raging pandemic, things may be slow even in January.  At any rate, success is rare so let me give you some helpful tips.

​You know the result you want but you can't always guarantee the outcome.  You do want to fix it clearly in your mind but what you need to focus on are actions necessary to achieve that result.  For example, I want to lose 60 pounds but that will not magically happen.  I need to take action.  The next thing to think about is what action.  I'm sure that you have heard the saying "Failure to plan is planning to fail".  You need a plan.  You need to break it down into action steps with deadlines.  In my example, I have tried lots of things to lose weight so I have some idea what works and what doesn't for me.  I need action steps that I will actually do.  I need to commit to doing them and that means I need a big "WHY" to keep me motivated.  What are the benefits if I actually achieve my goal?  Is this important to me?  If not, I won't do it.

Weight loss is one of the most common resolutions and the one most likely to fail.  Less than 1% of people who want to lose weight manage to lose all the excess weight and keep it off.  In most cases, they gain it back plus a few more pounds.  We know that diets don't work.  I'm watching all the television advertisements for various programs.  They all work...temporarily.  But they fail in the long run.  Often there are underlying reasons and these need to be addressed and the plan has to address all of the issues.  Generally, people need a support system.  This could be an accountability partner, it could be a coach or it could be both.

In summary, you need a clear vision of what you want, you need to know why you want this (benefits), you need a plan that will work to get the results you want, you need small action steps laid out so you know just what you are going to do and you need support to keep you accountable plus help with any part of this that you don't know how to do.

​So, what are you want to do or achieve this year?