Have you been struggling with good intentions that don’t quite happen?
Maybe you’re determined to lose weight, but things keep getting in the way of your goals?
Here’s an interesting solution.
Remember what has worked for you before and see if you can go back to those things.
Think back to previous times when you’ve accomplished goals such as losing weight or exercising regularly.
What helped you stick with your program? How did you keep yourself on track, even through difficult times?
Use these questions to remember what helped you before:
• What was I doing that made my efforts successful?
• Which factors are the same today as back then?
• Which ones are different?
• What helped me stay on target when I was struggling?
• What didn’t work? What caused me to lose focus or quit?
Look at similar goals you want to accomplish now. Can you recall any techniques or creative ideas that would work for you again? Even one small solution from the past can boost your progress with your current plan.
What about situations when you managed your emotions without using food to cope? How were you different at that time? Were you less stressed? Not as angry? More comfortable with your body?
Even if your life has changed, you can still draw on what worked for you in the past. Simply pull your best strategies off the shelf and actively pursue them again.
Maybe you laid your exercise clothes out at night or kept a water bottle in the refrigerator so you could grab it easily before you started your walk.
Recall the tiniest details that helped you stick with your efforts, then use those as a foundation for your current plan.
Make a list of things that worked for you in the past. Decide which of those things you can go back to or continue doing. Use those ideas to create a new plan for right now.
Reverse New Year’s Resolution
To do this exercise, pretend you’ve already achieved the goals you want. Them mentally fast-forward to one year from now. Picture how you want to look, feel and live, now that you’ve met those goals.
In your notebook or on a piece of paper, write “The date now is _________, and here’s what I’ve accomplished.” Then fill in the blank with today’s month and day exactly one year from now.
For each of the following statements, write an answer based on what you’d like to see happen in your life.
• I now weigh: (record the weight you desire and believe is realistic one year from now)
• My body feels: (use words such as strong, healthy, slender, thinner, toned, flat, etc.)
• I’m exercising by: (examples include walking, biking, three to four times per week)
• I’m pleased with: (perhaps things such as expressing emotions, self-nurturing, body changes, new attitude)
• I’ve learned: (spell out things such as how to cope with stress, ways to manage emotional eating, etc.)
• One sentence that describes my life today: (Dream big on this one!)
To make it easier for you, here is an example from one of my coaching clients.
Example of a Reverse New Year’s Resolution
Julie wanted to lose fifty pounds. But lately, she’d been allowing her emotions to ruin her diet plan. She had also stopped exercising and couldn’t seem to get started again.
Here is how Julie’s Reverse New Year’s Resolution turned out.
The date is one year from now. Here’s what I’ve accomplished:
• I now weigh: One hundred and forty pounds.
• My body feels: Light, strong and toned.
• I’m exercising by: Walking twenty minutes a day, five or six days a week.
• I’m pleased with: The way I’ve learned to nurture myself without using food to do it. I’ve also improved ability to express my feelings to my husband and kids.
• I’ve learned: I don’t need to eat every time I want to feel better. Now I reach for my “instead” list and use other ways to improve my day.
• My life today: I’m thrilled that I’m maintaining my goal weight, managing my emotions in ways that don’t involve food, and feeling a lot more at peace in my life.
Julie was amazed at how motivated she felt after reading her resolution. Seeing the goals as if she’d already met them inspired her to get back on track.
Now she writes a Reverse New Year’s Resolution at least once a year. Holding a vision of how she will be the next year gives her great motivation to push forward with her goals.
Read it out loud!
After you complete your own Reverse New Year’s Resolution, read your statements out loud. How do you feel as you hear yourself describing your future? Does it sound possible? Wonderful? Scary? Are you skeptical this outcome will ever happen?
Of course, you have work to do between now and next year, but the picture you’ve just created can absolutely come true.
For the next week, keep your Reverse New Year’s Resolution list where you can read it every day. Each time you read those words, you’ll reinforce your potential to make them a reality.