Happy New Year!

Don’t you think a new year is like a new job…. or a new city…. or a new marriage….or a new eating healthy program?  So exciting! Evoking a feeling of change.  A feeling of doing better.  An attitude of ‘I’m going to do this…THIS YEAR!’  With excitement that maybe…. finally, that diet, exercise plan or closet organization might really happen!

Are you a resolution maker? 

Or, maybe the better question is – Are you a resolution maker…then breaker?

Me?  I don’t make resolutions.  Because I know with 110% clarity that I will break them.  I have come to the conclusion that if I want to make change…. I will make change…and a new year will NOT be the catalyst to make that happen.  Just like a new car is NOT going to make you keep it clean.  Or a new marriage is NOT going to be different than the previous one (or two). Or a new budget is NOT going to keep spending in check.

How do I know this?  Because change needs more than a thought.  More than a resolution. More than an ‘I WILL’.

Have you ever been to a gym on January 3rd?  I have.  And it is packed.  I am waiting for my machine of choice…. forever it seems.  But I know darn well that in a month or so the waiting will be over.

Do you have any idea how many people start weight loss/healthy eating programs on January 1st only to abandon them 30-60 days later?  I had no idea either so, in Jane style, I went to google.  Based on a combination of data that I found it looks like 40% quit within the 1st month.  Out of the remaining, 65% within the 1st 60 days.  And, about 15% last a year!  Those are NOT statistics that I want to take to the track and bet on.

Are we just a nation of quitters?

Were those people at the gym or weight watchers just not committed enough?  Not discipled enough.  Just not motivated?  Just quitters?

I would like to answer those questions with one for you?  How often have you decided to make change?  Enrolled in the program, signed up for the course, took the class, bought the products…. and were really excited.  And, after 30, 60, or 90 days you were right back where you began.  Only now a little more broke, a whole lot more educated…and feeling like a quitter or a loser.

Where does change come from?

Lasting change (which is what we all want, isn’t it?) begins with baby steps.  Small steps.  NOT everything ‘at once’ steps.

My husband is an all-in or all-out kind of guy.  He will decide to exercise 90 minutes a day (after not exercising for months) and eat lettuce and carrots out of the bag for all his meals.  And then he wonders why he can hardly move, is hungry and wants to eat ‘ALL the things’ at night.  And, of course, his new ‘program’ does not work and he quits. I just shake my head and wonder….did he really quit or did he just set himself up for his own failure.  Is he his own worst enemy?

 Let me ask you….Is this you?  Does any of this resonate?  Are you in any type of agreement?

I recently wrote an article – ‘Is it possible to have long lasting change?’.  Check it out.  It dives into this topic in detail.

In closing, 2020 brings with it a whole new decade! With that said, what do you want your 2020 to look like? What changes do you want to make? How are you going to make those changes? How are you going to stay with those changes? What will motivate you? What will keep you going?

A plan needs to be put in place…to make sure all of your bases are covered. A plan with a few if/then scenarios. They key word here? Plan.

I will be praying that you figure out what needs changed. Come up with a plan which includes baby steps. And you can then look back and say…..”I did it’.