Monday, December 31, 2012

New's Year's Resolutions

2013 Winter has definitely set in. All of those food centered holidays are over. The time has come to turn the focus on the possibilities of the coming year. What's your New Year's Resolution?

What exactly is a resolution? A quick google search came up with the definition that many people know: "a firm decision to do or not to do something." Lose weight. Stop smoking. Sound familiar?

I used to make a resolution every year to lose weight. I'd spend days before New Year's indulging in whatever I thought I wouldn't be able to eat when my diet started (you know, the last supper type of thing.) With the 12th gong of the new year, I'd be "on" my diet. Yep, and that usually lasted until I found myself digging chips into the sour cream dip by 12:15 a.m. By all means, I was "OFF."  When I dove into the chips and dip, I failed. Both my diet and my resolution. And, over the years, I tried and failed repeatedly.

A better way to approach resolutions can be found in the 3rd definition of the free online dictionary, "a course of action determined or decided on." It's not the end result, but the action plan that's decided on.

Making a resolution to work on making healthier choices implies a process of action. It can also help skirt the sense of failure when you've slipped into the dip. Perhaps that wasn't the healthiest choice, but you're still in the game.  Focusing on the action creates the mindset that it's a working in progress, without inferring perfection is required to be successful. The process, the action, is what it's all about. Not simply the end result.

To improve your level of wellness, it's necessary to work through the process of making behavior changes in order to successfully change long term habits. It's this  process that provides time to learn, adjust thinking, and create wellness results that really last. There is no magic pill, at any price. Hard work and time are necessary to make real changes. 

This year make your New Year's Resolution a course of action to improve your health. Use this resolve to help guide you on your path toward greater wellness--- a leaner, stronger, happier, and healthier you! 

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