HOW TO KEEP YOUR RESOLUTIONS

Although the New Year is the traditional time for making resolutions to change habits and improve lifestyle, research shows that over half of us fail to keep to our resolutions and many of us give up on our commitment within a week.

This failure rate is hardly surprising. After all, how realistic is it for us to expect to suddenly change at the stroke of midnight on any given day? Lasting change comes from making small, positive adjustments to thinking and behaviour over a period of time whereas seismic shifts in lifestyle can often be too dramatic to sustain and are likely to send us scuttling back into our comfort zone in double quick time.

If you like the idea of using the New Year as a watershed, one possible solution to this annual problem is to declare your commitment to change during the forthcoming year, and not all at once. You can then follow through on your declaration and plan for your success by formalising your goals in writing. Once this is done, it will be easier to decide upon priorities and the steps for gradually implementing those changes in a manageable way throughout the year. A reputable Life Coach can support you with this process.

Another important factor in your success is to appreciate that your “personal new year” may not necessarily coincide with 1st January as adopted by the Gregorian calendar. We all have our own natural cycles and it is wiser to give yourself the best chance of success by starting any changes of regime at your best time of the year.

For example, my own “personal new year” begins in early November. This is when I spring into life and I am full of plans and motivation. I know from experience that September and October are a low point for me - I mourn the loss of summer, the onset of darker nights and the decay in the garden. I always feel that I am in a period of transition and I like to take the time to slow down and reflect, it is not a time for me to start anything new. As soon as November comes my energy is restored and I’m ready to start again.

Likewise, for many, 1st January is an equally bad time. We are in the middle of winter and our natural inclination is to pull up the drawbridge and cosy up to the fire. The centre of our world becomes hearth and home. Before science and technology made so many things possible, life for our ancestors would have been governed by the seasons and the natural world. For many, mid winter would have been too dark, cold and wet to venture out very far and survival through to the brighter days of spring was the main aim.

You may find that the arrival of spring will be a far better time for you to think of renewing yourself. It is natural to respond with optimism to the lengthening days, increased sunlight and abundance of new life appearing around you. In spring energy levels start to rise; we look ahead and get ready to broaden our horizons again.

If you are able to tune in to and work with your own natural rhythms and cycles in this way you are likely to improve your chances of sticking to your resolutions considerably.

For more details see www.blueskylife.co.uk or phone on 01395 444310 or 07974 862663.