The Final Resolution

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What if the New Year’s resolutions weren’t something that you decided to do once a year. What if really it meant a start of a new lifestyle for the rest of your life. Resolutions are great as a yearly reminder to stay the course that is if you are already on it. How can you go from the old to the new without excuses and gain action and momentum to your most important goals? Here are four questions to get you moving in the right direction and motivated to start fresh once and for all.

​Are you ready to change? Most people set their sights on large goals that are never fulfilled since they don’t start small and make actionable changes that they can see and build upon. Results from a University of Scranton study show that almost 50 percent of people give up on their resolutions by the end of March. Furthermore, less than 10 percent of people meet their goals. It takes statistically six months to make and stick a new habit.
In my book The Perseverance Diet – 12 Steps to Mind Body Nutrition Transformation, I ask you this same question, “are you really ready to make long lasting changes?” I guide you through the mystery of making and keeping great habits for a healthier lifestyle.  If you have had it and are so done with how it’s been going for you up until this moment than let’s make a plan.

What are you doing to change your mindset?
If resolutions have so many benefits, why do people give up on them so quickly? We make resolutions during an exciting but stressful time of year. Overspending and overindulging lead us to focus on negative behaviors as New Year’s Eve approaches. We think about areas in our life we are unhappy with and we create resolutions from a deficit mindset. When we are so focused on our weaknesses, it’s no wonder that we are unsuccessful in our attempts at change.  
 
Shift Your Mindset for success! You’ve probably heard the saying “success breeds success,” and there is even research to back it up. Writing resolutions or better yet, long-term lifestyle goals from a strengths-based mindset is a shift that allows you to be successful right from the start! What are you already succeeding at that you could add to? Don’t forget it’s not about taking things away or suffering to attain this holy grail. It’s about taking what you have and working with it to make it great!


How are you loving yourself with self-care?
Learning to love and take care of yourself is the first thing to set your sights upon when creating a long-term lifestyle goal. A self-care routine can be the easiest to overlook in your day to day life. But where do you start? You’ve been running yourself ragged for so long, it’s tough to know what you need to help!
If you’re on your first leg of your journey to slower, intentional living, the first steps are difficult since we’ve been at the races for a long time. You can do it though, because you set the goal for yourself, and you know that your health needs it.  Self-care should be the first new routine you implement in your day to day life. There are the old adages of, “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” and “if you don’t take care of yourself, who will?”  it took me years to truly understand what that meant for me. I was running myself ragged: stressed all the time, because I kept running but never crossed the finish-line, all these things led me to look inward. I realized that I would be burned out if I didn’t start doing preventive care and putting the brakes on the rat-race
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What does your nutrition on and off the plate look like?
We know that typical resolutions help us focus on improving key areas of our lives. It probably doesn’t surprise you that people make these goals top priority: exercise more, spend less, learn a new language, quit smoking, lose weight, or improve their relationships. These are important since they help you look and feel better in the new year! Admit it, you’ve probably made resolutions like these too! Believe it or not as you can see most of these have nothing to do with food and everything to do with the nutrition and nurturing you are receiving off the plate.  
Yes, nourishing your body with healthy organic foods are super important, but equally are the areas of the mind. Just imagine seeing this awesome fit person and yet they are carrying loads of heavy imaginary baggage. Are they really fit? Are they really the picture of ultimate well-being? How are you nourishing yourself on and off the plate?