Andy & Jill Parnham

Thank you Andy for a very varied course, lots of different teaching methods, a gift to everyone who attended

— Course participant

How are the New Year’s Resolutions going?

by

Early days I know

But how many of them will you still be keeping in three months’ time?

For most of us starting off is easier than finishing

Apparently, 35% of people break their resolutions by the end of January; and only 23% see their resolutions through to completion! So why do we struggle? Here are few possible reasons:

  1. We bite off more than we can chew. The diet or exercise routine that seems so do-able on 1st January becomes a huge mountain to climb in February!
  2. We attempt too many. Being over-zealous in January will not help in April!
  3. We choose the wrong things. We haven’t really thought through what our main life priorities should be, so we choose things that don’t matter so much.
  4. We try to do it all on our own. Telling someone about our choices and staying accountable is harder to do, but more likely to succeed than keeping it all to ourselves.

There’s more. We’re a ‘now’ generation

We struggle to think deeply about our lives. So when we choose New Year’s resolutions we often focus on how we feel in the moment and end up gut reacting over our holiday excesses, rather than giving careful thought to our lives coming up over the next 12 months. But if we take a step back and spend time pondering about the way forward, in the longer term it’s likely to be more successful.

So – what to do?

Here are some simple suggestions:

  1. Choose well in January: don’t just ‘fall into’ resolutions – take some time to reflect on your life, and come up with worthwhile goals
  2. Be specific: what precise weight are you aiming for?
  3. Do it with someone. It’s more fun, it changes the focus on you alone, and you’re more likely to succeed!
  4. Take small steps, over a longer period. Don’t expect immediate results. Take a gradualist approach, not all-at-once.
  5. Expect some failure along the way. It’s OK if you don’t always get it right. Be real.
  6. Include some fun! What can you do practically to bring more enjoyment into your (and others’) life?

The start of the year is a good opportunity to review our lives

Spending a bit more time on it now may be harder work, but it will bring more fruit later on.