Friday marks the first day of Spring…can you believe it? It seems that with every passing season I am consistently shocked at the fact that the previous season has passed. The significance of this seasonal change, however, is that we are now 1/3 of our way through 2015, and those New Year’s Resolutions we made aaallll the way back in January….well, let’s be honest, we (I) may have left a few of them back in January. This is natural. Especially when making more than one goal, it’s almost inevitable that not all with be successful, at least not at first. However, with the few that I have managed to keep up with, I’ve been able to stick with some very key strategies to make them successful.
1. Contingency Control: My first goal was to eat more (like, WAY more) veggies. Since I won’t just voluntarily buy veggies and ADD them to a meal, I created a contingency plan for myself…”When I eat my veggies, I can eat my meat.” I’ve even had to go so far as make them my appetizer! In addition, I’ve also pretty much eliminated those other foods that I would normally put on my plate instead of veggies…you know, that piece of bread that just happened to leave no room for anything else. Contingency control my friends! If I don’t buy it, I can’t eat it!
2. Remaining realistic: I made a goal to drink 55 oz. of water a day. That’s one of those resolutions I left in January…oops. However, I realized that simply buying myself a Camel Back water bottle won’t magically make it full and then put the water in my body. In addition, I have a job where I am constantly driving to clients’ homes, often in remote areas, so my options for restroom use are extremely limited. Modifying a goal and learning how to make it work with what you’ve got is an important step I had forgotten.
3. Telling someone/Accountability: I have to admit, I had used this tool before, but not nearly as much as the others. But when I told the bf that I was committing to at least 5 days at the gym per week, I not only made myself that much more accountable for my success, but also gained a workout buddy! He committed to go right along with me, and sure enough, we’ve gotten our sleepy rears out of bed at the crack of dawn 5-6 days a week and worked out together. This goal was two fold for me: I was able to hold myself accountable, add someone else to increase that accountability, and add an amazing new level to my relationship.
In reflection, I think that New Year’s Resolutions are a wonderful thing, and absolutely worth committing to. However, I also think the term “New Year’s Resolution” is a misnomer. It indicates that the goals are mostly associated with the New Year, and that verbiage makes it easier to say (at least for me) “well, I made it this far, and it’s not the new year anymore anyway, so oh well.” When I changed my wording to simply “Goals,” I took out the time factor, which made it much more relevant to mid-March…or even mid-July for that matter!
So, how are you doing on your New Year’s Reso– I mean Goals? And what are you doing to maintain them?
