Are You Ready For a New Year’s Resolution?
If you are wondering whether you have what it takes to follow through on sticking to a goal or resolution, this post is for you.
Frequently, we know that we want to make a change in our life or lifestyle. But, moving from a place of vaguely wanting to make a change and actually being ready to take the first action steps can be a bit intimidating.
How Ready Are You To Make A Change?
If you are considering making a resolution or setting a goal, determining your readiness is an important first step. How you answer the readiness question can help to lay the foundation for successfully following through on a resolution or goal.
We can come up with *all* the reasons for why it is too hard, would take too much effort, and why we won’t be able to follow through 100% of the time. We typically have reasons for leaving things the way they are. One of those reasons being - if it was so easy to change, you would have done it by now. Right!?!
This pregame consideration is important to laying the foundation of what can ultimately overcome *all* the reasons why you don’t think you will be successful. In addition, these considerations may also weed out goals and resolutions that might not be worth your energy right now.
The point is that real change will not happen until our reasons for change outnumber our reasons for keeping things the same. The more pros for change you have, the better.
Setting Yourself Up For Success
I know that we are each capable of making changes in our lives that can greatly impact our health and well-being. I know this because I have made changes in my life that have made a huge impact on my health and quality of life over time. I also know this because I have the privilege to witness my clients making consistent efforts that add up to transformations over time.
I know that you can do this, too.
Therefore, I want to ask you an important question that many people do not consider before they set a goal or a New Year’s Resolution - are you actually ready to make that change?
In preparation for anything approaching a new goal or a New Year’s Resolution, I am sharing 3 important considerations to help you make sure you are ready to commit to a resolution or goal.
3 Foundational Considerations For Determining Whether You Are Ready To Make A Change
One: How Important is your potential resolution/goal?
If your resolution or goal is not all that important to you, the likelihood of you following through on it is pretty low. There needs to be some motivation behind your goal! That way, when you run into challenges, you will be less likely to give up. Having clarity on the importance of your goal is paramount!
Therefore, I invite you to consider the following points related to any resolution that you set for yourself:
How important is this particular goal/change/resolution to your life and health on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being low importance and 10 being high importance)?
What does that number mean to you?
Why isn’t your number lower?
Two: What are the pros and cons of making the change?
The key to real, sustainable change is having reasons for change that outnumber your reasons for keeping things the same. The more pros for change you have, the better. To figure out how your potential goal or resolution stacks up in the pros versus cons, I invite you to consider the following:
What are the benefits of keeping things the way they are now?
What are the benefits of making a change?
What are the drawbacks of making a change?
What are the drawbacks to keeping things the way they are now?
This is the cost/benefit calculation that we all need to make to lay the foundation for successfully sticking with a goal or resolution. If a change will require a lot of effort for little reward, it might not seem to be worth it. And, the chances of success are low. But, if the effort feels more manageable, the effort is incremental, and the potential benefit is high, you are more likely to tip the scale in favor of making a successful, sustainable change.
For example, when a client feels the immediate impact of doing physical therapy or other exercises on a regular basis, it typically seems easier for them to make a regular commitment. There is motivation for them to feel better. And, the effort is usually realistic in terms of the time required and the necessary effort. In addition, there is a direct correlation between the effort and the outcome - exercise leads to feeling a physical improvement or diminished symptoms.
But, if a client wants to commit to an ambitious cardio goal after not exercising for months due to an injury, it might be important to pause and consider whether such ambition is truly something that will add more pros than cons.
What is the likelihood of reinjury?
What is the desired outcome from a quick start?
Is there an opportunity for a slower incremental build-up that is realistic and sustainable?
In this instance, there is a high likelihood that there will be a big start, and, a quick end to this resolution. There seems to be a lot of cons to being over-ambitious, particularly after an injury.
Three: How confident are you that you can make this change?
If you are feeling confident that you can make the change, that is amazing and you should go for it! However, if you are not feeling very confident that you can stick to your goal or New Year’s Resolution, what would it take to feel more confident?
Do you need any of the following before you commit?
Further research or consulting an expert,
Experimenting with what could get you started,
Feeling more supported or accountable, or
Feeling more prepared.
The main reason that we don’t feel confident is that we know we will not be able to reach our goal 100% of the time. It is hard to commit to something when we won’t feel successful (clean up and take from other blog post).
This is the number one reason that many of us don’t take the next step!
Want to build your confidence?
For more information on implementing a wellness practice with confidence, check out this blog post that expands on the topic.
Are You Ready?
I hope you found some questions in this post to help you determine how ready you are to commit to making a healthy change. Whether you are setting a New Year’s Resolution or looking to make changes at any point during the year, these considerations are an important foundational piece to making sure you are successful in your health and wellness goals.
If you are looking to add wellness into your life with chronic illness in a way that actually works for your and your life, I invite you to explore Chronically Well. I would love the opportunity to support you on integrating wellness into your life, your way!
What goals have you had success with in the past? How Did the pros Stack up against the cons?
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