Tuesday, January 12, 2016

The Reason Why Your New Year Resolutions Fail

Many of us have set lofty goals for the new year yet most of us will not attain them for one reason or another. There are many reasons to why this may have happened but in most cases, there is one big culprit responsible for this: poor planning.

No matter how driven and dedicated you are to changing certain aspects of your life, without a solid plan, the chances of your success are slim.

Why is this so?

Simply put, without a concrete plan, you are operating off will power alone. And, if you've tried this in the past, you are well aware that you'll eventually burn out, leaving you to fall back to your old ways.

Our default habits determine most of our actions and decisions throughout the day. Some experts, such as Dr. John G. Kappas, founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in Southern California, stated that one's subconscious programming (aka old habits) determines 88% of one's day. Others, such as Dr. Bruce Lipton, author of The Biology of Belief, attribute 99% of one's mind to be dominated by subconscious behaviors. Without the right plan, you will undoubtedly regress to your old ways.

How to Plan Effectively

The following steps are presented with examples referring to specific aspects of one's life. However, they may be applied towards many others such as finances, relationships, work etc.

Step 1: Put It Down In Writing

The first key to effective planning is to begin by writing down your goals. Writing is a psychomotor skill, which, on a subconscious level, gives the goal more substance in your mind, making it more tangible. Make sure the goal is specific and realistic in order to be able to aim towards the goal with a definiteness of purpose.

Step 2: Get a Baseline Reading

Before setting out to creating change, you need to have a baseline reading in order to achieve your goal. Just as someone who goes to a personal fitness trainer takes a "before" weigh-in, one needs to take note of their current status.

Another example of getting a baseline reading is when our patients at Complete Chiropractic undergo our NeuroSpinal Correction, where a full spine structural film, a 3D-Spinal Assessment Unit reading and a Digital Structural Analysis are taken before setting out to correct/stabilize a spinal shift in order to keep track of the changes and progress being made.

One can also associate the baseline reading with the "You Are Here" icon on a map at the mall. This icon helps you navigate the terrain by finding the right direction to get to your destination. In a nutshell: to get to point B, you need to know your point A.

Step 3: Set a Specific Goal

Whether your goal is having a healthier spine, getting fit, making more money, setting a specific goal is an absolute must and here is why:

When setting a goal, you are negotiating with your subconscious mind for something that is unknown. As mentioned earlier, 88 to 99% of one's thought process has already been shaped in the subconscious, including set belief systems. Why is this a problem? Because the mind is comfortable with the familiar and will resist the unfamiliar, even to the detriment of the individual.

When you have a goal that isn't specific, your mind will trick you into believing that you have achieved the goal. For example, if you set out to earn more money by next year, you could earn just a few dollars more and that would be considered a success.

On the other hand, had you set out to earn $10,000 more in earnings, then you are less likely to convince yourself of having achieved that goal until you can make that set amount. The same thing applies to weight loss, spinal health etc.

Step 4: Set a Realistic Timeline

When an individual wants to lose weight, the trainer will need to be realistic and practical with the time it will take to lose that weight. The more pounds that need to be shed, the longer it will take for the body to safely lose that weight.

If a patient is seeking NeuroSpinal corrective care, my recommendation of time required to undo the damage is directly related to how much is present. A person with 40 years of poor posture, sits most of the day (you can read here to find out why that's bad for you), and doesn't keep their joints active, shouldn't expect to correct the problem in a single visit.

When mapping a journey from Point A to Point B on a map, the further the two points are, the more time it will take. Trying to rush it will only hinder the process by overwhelming the individual.

Step 5: Adjusting Your Goals/Timeline When Necessary

As with any journey, as you start moving toward your goal, you will come across obstacles or problems you may have not anticipated and that is absolutely okay!

A person with fitness goals might have to extend the date when the goal was expected to be attained if, for example, they find out that their metabolism is slower than average. Conversely, one might set up a shorter deadline if they learn that they have a higher metabolic rate than average.

With our NeuroSpinal chiropractic patients, it is made clear that some improve faster than expected while others improve slower. Bodies are different and respond differently to treatment, and that is totally fine as long as one recalibrates and continues moving forward.

Step 6: Accountability

Sharing your goals with others creates a sense of accountability and is greatly encouraged. There is something important about letting people know your goals that changes your journey from that of a lone wolf to a pack.

A psychologist cited in Cialdini's book, Influence, gets his subjects who plan on quitting smoking to write out post cards to people they care about to share with them the news regarding their journey to a nicotine-free life. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, uses the term Masterminding to describe two or more people coming together with the intention of attaining a certain goal and shares numerous examples of people who have done so and were successful in attaining their goals.

At the end of the day, a solid plan can drastically change the outcome for the better. Here's to the best you!


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