A resolution is not the same as a plan for success

Eleven days have passed in the New Year and we have had time to settle into 2009. I look at New Year’s resolutions and look around me. Most people I have talked to who made New Year’s resolutions have broken them. Some barely made it into 2009 before they broke them. I have talked to people who have been unable to stay on a diet, quit smoking, stop eating sweets, exercise more, etc. I asked what happened and the majority of them said they tried to quit smoking, they tried to eat less, they tried to stay away from sweets, and they tried to go exercise. I think there are many reasons why we can’t seem to keep a new year's resolution. The first reason falls in the "trying". Unless you "just do it" you won't do it. If you made a resolution thinking you would try to...… you are probably finding yourself not doing ...… Another reason I believe we don't stick to that New Year’s resolution is because we weren't committed in the 1st place. We said some words and thought in the back of our minds we would try to do...… but also knew in the back of our minds if it didn't work, "oh well, I tried." Many of us make the same resolution year after year. Some people I talked to said they didn't bother to make any because they knew they wouldn't keep it anyway. Once again there was no commitment intended from the beginning. Now I hear you say, "So DeAnn, what is your solution to the resolution flop?"

Well, I already stated the 1st solution--commitment. Is it really something you want to do? If you made the resolution because it is the "right thing to do" you probably weren't really committed in the 1st place. You have to do it because you want the outcome it will provide.

The 2nd solution is, don't make a resolution. As I told everyone, I did not make resolutions this year. I made goals. I think the biggest solution to the resolution flop is to make goals. I see resolutions as statements, but goals are steps. They are plans. You make the big goal and then make the mini sub-goals to reach those goals. This allows you to see progress without being overwhelmed with the big project. My goal when I had RNY surgery was to become healthier by eliminating some health issues I had at the time, to exercise more and exercise consistently, to lose 150 pound, and to feel better about myself. In order to reach those goals I had to have a plan in place before I had the surgery. I knew the surgery wasn’t going to magically make all those things happen. It was only going to assist my willingness and dedication to put in the sweat and work to accomplish those goals. That meant before surgery I joined the YMCA, nabbed onto a trainer, put an exercise routine into place and began doing that exercise routine. I began eating like I knew I would have to eat after surgery. I tried different foods and I began using the pouch rules before surgery. I wrote down a list of things I wanted to accomplish and figured out what it would take to initiate the fulfillment of that list. I had to realize the list would not fall into place on its own and wouldn't be a success if I didn't invest in the process. I don't "try" to exercise daily; I schedule exercise into my daily routine. Yeah, some days, life gets in the way and I miss my session, but it isn't a reason to quit the program. I just get back up the next day and start again. In the recent past I made the statement life is 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Many times it is the back and forth motion we learn the most from. So if you have "broken" that New Year’s resolution and found yourself facing the resolution flop, just recommit and make it a goal. Sit down and take a few moments to make a plan of attack and figure out the steps to the prize. You can do it. All you have to do is ”just do it". Turn your back on the "try" method and activate the "do it" method, one step at a time.

If at first you don't succeed,
relax—you are just like the rest of us!