By Mandy Kendall

So, another year has come and gone and it’s time to look forward to this New Year. Resolutions have a reputation for being goals that people set for themselves but then never follow through on. However, studies have found that people who set resolutions or goals are 10 times more likely to achieve them when compared to those who don’t.

But even with the best of intentions, when the holidays are over and everything goes back to normal, it can be easy to slip back into old habits which may pull your focus away from your new resolve. Making changes can be hard and we all need as much help as possible to ensure success.

Mandy Kendall

So here are a few Qwik-e tips to help you on the path to achieving your resolutions

Reflect — Congratulate yourself on what you did last year and learn from what you didn’t. Be kind and don’t judge yourself too harshly for not achieving everything you wanted to. Look at why you didn’t and consider how you might do it differently in the future.

Be realistic — If a resolution or goal is too ambitious, then it is unlikely that you will attain it. Set yourself targets that you can actually envision happening. Set target dates along the way with milestones you would like to reach, this will help you plan out the time you need to allocate and also help the whole task seem a little less daunting.

Be specific — Once you know what you want to accomplish then get detailed on what it is exactly, and how you will get there. If you have decided you want to lose some weight, state exactly how much and by when (again this is a good time to be realistic).

Document — Putting goals down on paper serves a number of purposes. Goals will seem more real when they are written down and it will help clarify what you want. You will have a physical list to refer to keep your intentions forefront in your mind (you can post them on sticky notes all over the place to keep you focused). It is immensely satisfying to tick things off a list of goals, and then add another one knowing that you are capable of achieving what you set your mind to.

What and why — Don’t give yourself too many resolutions to work on at the same time. If you have a few on your list rank them in order of importance and decide which ones you will tackle first. Be honest with yourself about why you are doing it too. If your goal will have beneficial results for you and your loved ones then this will help you be successful. However, if your motivation is purely to please someone else this may turn into resentment in the long run. Also, give some thought to what happens after you have achieved your goal. For example, if a weight loss goal is purely to get to a certain weight then when that weight is reached there is no longer a reason to focus on the diet and the exercise. This is potentially why lots of people yo-yo up and down with their weight. If your goal was to lose weight to help you stop needing medications, or be more able to do the sports you like, then those reasons become an ongoing motivation to help keep you on track.

Visualize — Imagining how you would feel or look like when you achieve your goal is a very powerful motivating force. Your mind and your actions are largely driven by emotion so imaging the wonderful feeling you will have when you have reached your goal will greatly help motivate your mind to working towards achieving it.

Enlist help — There is nothing like being held accountable for your goals. If you think you might let yourself off the hook ask a friend or family member to help you from straying from your goals. Even better is to have someone join you with your resolution. You may have different specific intentions for losing weight, getting fit etc. but you can still support each other along the way.

Stop doing things/start doing things — If you’re not sure what you want to achieve this year then try looking at what you did last year. There may be things you weren’t happy about doing last year, so your focus for this year could be to just stop doing that this year. Conversely if there is something you really enjoyed doing last year then focus on doing more of it.

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy New Year!

Until next time.

Mandy Kendall operates Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe, which aligns wellness seekers with their ideal wellness provider. If you have questions, would like some advice, or would like to request some Qwik-e tips on any health and well-being topic, drop her an email at connect@healthconnective.com or keep an eye out on Lake Tahoe News for regular Qwik-e tips on how to make healthy changes one Quick and Easy step at a time.