Why New Years Resolutions Fail
(PRWEB) January 1, 2005
New Years Resolutions are all about making changes. Changes that we would like to see in our lives for the future, many of these changes will be realised as deprivation and on the face of it seem as if we will not be having as much fun as the whole of last year. For example, we think that we enjoy smoking and yet we are going to deprive ourselves of cigarettes, we enjoy our food and hate feeling hungry yet we are going to deprive ourselves of food and feel hungry. For some reason we still pick this time of the year when we are probably most vulnerable to failure because we believe that there may be a whole year ahead of this self imposed deprivation in store for us when we have just had such a very, very good time. What a conflict of emotion.
In my view most new years resolutions usually fail because they are not a planned approach to meeting the desired goal and they are made at the wrong time. LetÂs look at the resolutions that people make on New Year’s Eve,
to quit smoking,
to cut down the amount of alcohol they drink maybe even go on the proverbial ÂWagonÂ
to diet & lose weight
to save more money
to start a new career
The list is endless.
Lets look at two of these resolutions and you will soon see just why they are usually doomed to failure.
ItÂs a couple of days before new years eve and your feeling bloated from all the food, Nuts and chocolate that you have consumed over the last week. YouÂre getting ready for yet another party at your uncle JimÂs and your struggling to fasten the buttons on your trousers but ÂIt will be a good night and your not going to lose out so you decide ÂThatÂs it IÂm going to make a new years resolution and diet from new years dayÂ.
Sorry! you have just made the following classic mistakes and you will eventually be coming to see me or a joining a slimming club.
You have decided to lose weight . How? . What Diet? . How long for? . How much are you going to lose? . For what reasons?
You have just admitted that you are overweight and your still determined to go out and eat and drink far to much at Uncle JimÂs, This is just a reinforcing factor for your sub-conscious mind to use to stop you from eating less.
You used the ÂD word . Diet! Avoid this word like the plague! Your sub-conscious mind simply interprets it as ÂStarvation something that it will not let you do to the body, and usually invoke a feeling of hunger, unless of course you have some very deep psychological problems.
ItÂs very similar when considering quitting smoking, only this time we are dealing with an addiction. An addiction to nicotine so strong that you have dissociated yourself from the fact that it will very likely kill you and on the other hand one that you associate with having a good time, in fact an association that makes you believe that you:
Cannot start the car unless you have just lit up.
Cannot make that telephone call unless you have a cigarette in your hand.
Just have to have one to end that meal, even if you have to go and stand outside in adverse weather conditions because other people find it distasteful.
Just have to smoke more if your having a drink in the pub.
Have a friend if they offer you a ÂCiggyÂ.
Hard to believe I know. WhatÂs even harder to believe that is that some people think that they can quit an addiction, which is so strong that it has been likened to that of addiction to Heroin and other such drugs, at the drop of a hat! . Just because itÂs New Years Eve!
WhatÂs even harder to believe and even humorous is watching people at 3 minutes past midnight on the 1st January, drink in one hand (fag in other), hardly able to stand, barely comprehensible, feeling bloated and sick; telling their best friend and a complete stranger about their New years Resolution and how ÂThis is the Year for them!Â
Most people will only succeed in achieving some of the above goals if they have analysed what they want, have a planned approach and are prepared to seek help including using Hypnotherapy, Life coaching etc.
In my opinion forget New Years Day, National No Smoking Day or any other day that someone else thinks it would be a good time for you to make the change. Be sure you are making the change for the right reasons, get help if you need to plan that change, do not make the change because of a ÂKnee jerk reaction from an external influence, involve your Hypnotherapist, Dietician, Life Coach as soon as possible and you are more likely to succeed.
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