I usually hear something every year about resolutions. With the turn of the new year, we want to do that we should have done. Many want to stop cussing, drink less, be nicer or mainly lose weight.
Of course I think that I am a sucker for resolutions. I make my few--usually about weight loss.
Nearly everyone who makes them is unable to keep them for longer than a few days. However, it never fails to amaze me that that the different weight loss products take a center spot in stores about now. I figure that many people will buy one box or one cannister and it will sit partially empty for the rest of the year.
I think that most resolutions fail because they are vague, general goals. They are also generally drastic in nature versus achievable. To get skinny is a lot harder than to lose 20 pounds.
I think that many people stress over the large or radical goals that they want to achieve; they are being too idealistic. They push themselves and immediately start dreading the possible misery that the changes will encounter. They cannot keep it up and soon feel depressed that they failed.
Sustainability
It is my opinon that for us to make changes that mean something, we have to be able to sustain them--that is be able to keep them going. We should have expectations that are realistic . . . in other words they are lower and go slower or take longer. The lower our expectations and the slower we are able to go, the more sustainable the goal or resolution is.
I think that it is harder to go slower on many resolutions because of what I call the microwave oven effect. We can do a lot of other things faster in this world that include rapid heating of food in a microwave and send information on the internet. However, there are many other goals and tasks that are going to take time regardless of how fast we can get other things done.
Frustration Tolerance
When we ponder that achievements like weight loss are going to take time, we get frustrated. People who cannot work through the feeling of frustration either do not start or do not finish the race. A scholar and professional named Marsha Lenihan noted that many need to develop the coping skills to handle and tolerate the feeling of frusration. Being able to feel the frusration is half the battle.
Concluding thoughts
Well, if you are pondering a resolution for the new year and feeling scared or dread, consider slowing down. It is your life and unless you get into an office weight-loss contest life is otherwise not a race. You and I live life at the pace we essentially choose. When you and I feel like we have to compete with others in achieving resolutions, we torture ourselves even more. It does not have to be that way.
Of course I think that I am a sucker for resolutions. I make my few--usually about weight loss.
Nearly everyone who makes them is unable to keep them for longer than a few days. However, it never fails to amaze me that that the different weight loss products take a center spot in stores about now. I figure that many people will buy one box or one cannister and it will sit partially empty for the rest of the year.
I think that most resolutions fail because they are vague, general goals. They are also generally drastic in nature versus achievable. To get skinny is a lot harder than to lose 20 pounds.
I think that many people stress over the large or radical goals that they want to achieve; they are being too idealistic. They push themselves and immediately start dreading the possible misery that the changes will encounter. They cannot keep it up and soon feel depressed that they failed.
Sustainability
It is my opinon that for us to make changes that mean something, we have to be able to sustain them--that is be able to keep them going. We should have expectations that are realistic . . . in other words they are lower and go slower or take longer. The lower our expectations and the slower we are able to go, the more sustainable the goal or resolution is.
I think that it is harder to go slower on many resolutions because of what I call the microwave oven effect. We can do a lot of other things faster in this world that include rapid heating of food in a microwave and send information on the internet. However, there are many other goals and tasks that are going to take time regardless of how fast we can get other things done.
Frustration Tolerance
When we ponder that achievements like weight loss are going to take time, we get frustrated. People who cannot work through the feeling of frustration either do not start or do not finish the race. A scholar and professional named Marsha Lenihan noted that many need to develop the coping skills to handle and tolerate the feeling of frusration. Being able to feel the frusration is half the battle.
Concluding thoughts
Well, if you are pondering a resolution for the new year and feeling scared or dread, consider slowing down. It is your life and unless you get into an office weight-loss contest life is otherwise not a race. You and I live life at the pace we essentially choose. When you and I feel like we have to compete with others in achieving resolutions, we torture ourselves even more. It does not have to be that way.
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