December 29, 2022 general

It is that time of year when most of us plan to do better in the months ahead. However, too many “turn-over-a-new-leaf” health resolutions fail. That is often because optimistic folks bite off too much at once thereby setting themselves up to fail. On the other hand, we could tackle just one of the items on this GOAL LIST and work on that one for a week or a month until it becomes a habit. (That goal list has 15 goals and many helpful links). We can then add another one while we keep up with the first.  

Each person’s situation is different and so there are many options. You could select the step that you think might make the biggest improvement in your health and energy and tackle that one first. Or you could go for one that sounds easiest and build momentum based on that confidence building success. Studies at Stanford University offered tips for forming good habits. They also found that making an emotional connection to the desired habit helps. Here is an article with ideas on developing healthy habits and avoiding common mistakes.

Having the goals written out also helps. Perhaps print the list out and assign a proposed month for each item (note, I’ve given more than 12 choices). Post the plan where you will see it daily and remember that “a trip of a 1,000 miles starts with a single step”.

Clearly, if we keep doing what we’ve been doing, we will keep getting what we’ve been getting (and sometimes other unwanted health trouble we didn’t see coming.) Unfortunately, no one else can make diet and lifestyle improvements for you. Good luck and HAPPY NEW YEAR!