So It's January 2011, Now What?

Over the years that I have been working with people on behavior change, I have noticed a trend that starts this time of year. It is a trend that is obvious to those that work in the wellness/fitness industry, companies that produce smoking cessation products like Nicorette, and to those of us who counsel people on change…that’s right, it is New Year’s resolution time! “And this year is going to be different than last year…er, I hope it will be different...well…maybe it will be different…” is the usual thought process that goes through people’s minds. In this post I am going to talk about what it takes to be successful instead of leaving it up to “hope”. Here are six simple tips that can help keep you on the path to a successful New Year’s resolution:

Write It Down

“If it’s not written down, then you are not truly committed to it,” is what a mentor of mine always told me. And it’s true! When I don’t write things down, I usually forget about them. The fact is that simply by writing down your goal you can exponentially increase the chances of actually obtaining it. Several academic studies report that as much as 30 to 40 percent more people attain their goals than those who do not write them down. My advice is if you are serious about keeping your New Year’s resolution, write it down and put it somewhere that is visible to you on a regular basis. I recommend the bathroom mirror, a sticky note on the work computer, or on the corner of your rear view mirror (make sure you can still use the mirror).

Small Actionable Steps

Whether you are out to change the world or simply want to lose a couple pounds, make sure you break your goal down into small actionable steps. Start off with your main goal and the time you want to achieve it in, then break it down by quarter, month, week, and day so that you have a road map of what you need to do each day to be successful. I had a guy that wanted to lose 15 pounds when I first started working with him. We started with small actionable steps. He was to start by exercising for 10 minutes every day. When he was able to exercise every day for 10 minutes we went to 15. We worked this process until he was able to be exercising for 45 minutes every day of the week. Mark lost over 70 pounds that year, his goal was 15. He did this by having small actionable steps that he took every day to achieving his goal.

Celebrate the Quick Wins

Behavior change is a physical, mental, and chemical process. To be successful we have to physically change our habits (small actionable steps), we then must change our mental outlook (self-talk), and by changing those two things we can change the chemical make-up of our brain (habits). By celebrating the quick wins and praising ourselves for achieving those small actionable steps along our journey will help with changing our self-talk. Self-talk is one of the most influential pieces to behavior change. You can either build momentum or kill it with your self-talk. Celebrating the quick wins will help you with positive self-talk and will foster the necessary momentum for you to be successful.

One Day

If any of you know someone who is an addict or perhaps you yourself are an addict, you probably have heard this before. I have a friend who is a recovering alcoholic for 18 years. I asked him one time how he managed to go 18 years without a drink. He told me he never tried to go 18 years without a drink. He said, “I only don’t drink for one day. Then if I am blessed to wake up tomorrow, I am only going to not drink for that one day.” This process of taking it one day at a time has led to him not drinking for 18 years. Behavior change is a long slow process…so take it one day at a time.

Prepare To Fail

Most people don’t want to hear this; however, you are going to fail at least once while trying to change a behavior. In fact you will probably fail more than once. This is to be expected, and planned for. “Why do we fall down Master Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” – Batman Begins. It would be nice to be able to tell you that you are not going to experience any “pain” or setbacks while trying to make changes, but that just isn’t how behavior change works. It’s hard, in fact, it’s really hard. But as Woody Hayes once said, “Anything easy, ain’t worth a damn!” When creating your strategy and the small actionable steps, prepare for what happens if you fail or fall off track. Have a contingency in place for what you need to do to “pick yourself up”.

Stop Beating the Horse…

…It’s dead already. When you fall off track, as I said you would, there is a moment of truth for you. Most people choose option A - to kick yourself, and then kick yourself again, and then again, and then again, and then again…you get the point. To be successful at changing a behavior I recommend option B – which is to follow your contingency plan, get back up, move on, and forget about what happened. Don’t ask yourself WHY you fell off track; ask yourself WHAT you will do differently next time when it happens. When Payton Manning throws and interception, do you think he is thinking about the interception he just threw or the touchdown he is going to throw next?

My Advice

When working through behavior change it is important to remember that it is a process. Just because you were unsuccessful at one point doesn’t mean you will always be unsuccessful. I can promise you that the past does not predict the future. Statistics show that for those who are trying to quit smoking you will make on average seven different attempts to quit before you will be successful. The same goes for any change. It will take time, hard work, and a tenacity you wouldn’t believe. In the end if you stick to the process, you will make it. I hope this helps those of you out there that are working on your New Year’s resolution. As I said before, it doesn’t matter the size of the change you are trying to make, whether big or small, by following the process you will be successful.

Till next time,

Jonathan