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New Years Resolutions is the hot topic this time of year so that’s what we’re going to talk about today on Exploring Mind and Body.

One of the biggest problems with setting new years resolutions is that we don’t make them public which is why my number one tip is to let everyone know that you possibly can.  Yes I know it’s embarrassing if you don’t achieve your goal, especially if you tell everyone, but there are many more perks than downfalls to telling people about your resolutions.  Of course there will be doubters everywhere you go, those are mostly the people too afraid to set goals themselves but nonetheless, this is a time you have to push past the naysayers, believe in yourself and carry past any doubt that may come up.

Let other people know your goals

It’s important to let other people know what you set out to do for many different reasons.  First of all let’s say you’re hanging out with friends for the afternoon and it’s time to eat.  Your friend may want to hit the closest fast food joint but if they really are your friend and you let them know beforehand what your resolution is whether it be to drop a few inches or start eating healthier, they’ll help you stay away from such a place.

What if you’re going to family’s house for dinner and they don’t know you’re trying to avoid deep fried foods.  If you don’t tell them, how would they know?  And if they don’t know how can they support you?  So many of us are scared of what others will think we don’t give them a chance to support us, and trust me when I say we will need their support especially through the difficult times.  More times than not, family and friends are supportive, that’s why they’re family and friends.  And if they’re not supportive, if you have one of those families that makes fun of you for wanting to succeed, for pushing past limits and wanting to better yourself, you should really consider if that’s who you want to spend your time with, family or not.

We need that support, we need people to understand us and to relate to what it is we want to accomplish and many times that support team is what helps us achieve what we’re after.  Support can get you through difficult days, they can help you say ‘no’ or give you a little nudge to keep moving forward; support keeps you accountable to assist you in reaching your goals, which is why my next tip is to surround yourself with supportive people.

You can look for support within family and friends, you can look for a trainer or for a workout class; now a days you can even look online and join websites with support forums from everything to food logging buddies to workout pals.  In today’s day in age we have an unlimited amount of resources, so saying you have no support isn’t going to fly around here.  Coming up with excuses won’t help you reach your goals so find solutions instead of excuses.

Get rid of the excuses

Which leads us right into our next tip; we all have more excuses than pretty much anything else.  For whatever reason as humans we’re built with excuse after excuse and could pretty much talk our way out of anything.  At this time of year, more than ever, we need to understand that the reasons we don’t follow through with our resolutions is simply because we have more excuses than solutions.  A good exercise is every time you come up with an excuse or a reason not to, come up with a solution and reason to complete a task.  This is a good habitual exercise for life in general if you want accomplish what you’re after which is a perfect lead into the next tip.

Let your habits work for you

Pay attention to your habits.  As humans not only are we good at making excuses but we’re also great at forming habits.  Sometimes we form good habits and other times our habits aren’t so positive.  If we aren’t happy with our weight or activity level there’s a good chance we’ve put ourselves in the habit of forming sedentary habits.  It’s just the same as the opposite type of person.  Active people who are happy with their weight, that make better food choices and are often active have set habits that replicate this kind of lifestyle.  Today is a great day to take one small step in forming a habit that coincides with the goals you want to achieve.

Pay attention to your environment

And the last tip I want to give you is concerning your environment.  Like it or not, our environment has the biggest influence on us.  We are creatures of our environment.  It doesn’t matter if we’re raised in New York or California, china or Finland, we talk like our friends, dress like our friends, we play sports, join groups or hobbies, craft or scrapbook, just like our friends.

In this case you don’t have to just find positive friends but that certainly is the biggest factor.  Again we have so many resources in today’s day in age.  It’s important to surround yourself with a positive atmosphere in every way possible.  Hang up inspiring quotes around your house, put up pictures of people you aspire to around your house.  Everything from magazines to movies, surround yourself within an environment that supports what you want to achieve.  Course you can now listen to podcasts if the radio isn’t playing what relates to your goals, you can talk with friends, you can hit the internet in a constructive way; you could even find facebook groups that support your habits instead of looking at everyone’s newsfeed just to know what someone you don’t know any more is doing with their life.

There’s tons of ways to change your environment and positively influence your life.  The first step is to  realize we do things like our peers and what we’re surrounded with.  We’re constantly reminded with pictures, words and then actions of who we are and what we’ll become so choose wisely.

Understand you can set new years resolutions, the notion isn’t over with, it’s more so we don’t know how to set them anymore than we do goals.   Find something you believe you can accomplish and don’t let anything get in your way.

Let it be known, yell it, scream it, let every single person you know what your resolutions are and don’t expect they keep you accountable demand it.  If you want something that bad, understand you’ll have to be willing to sacrifice and dedicate yourself if every way you can think of.  Letting friends and family know what it is, is good step in the right direction.

Look for support, believe it or not we need support.  As independent as you think you are or as you want to be.  Understand support will carry you a long way and help you get through the difficult times because if it’s worth it you’ll have to get through tough moments.  Find friends and family that will help you along and if they won’t find new friends and family that will.

Remember that we’re good at excuses, we’re good at talking ourselves out of things and for some reason or another we have to come up with solutions.  Which doesn’t mean any one of those is easier than the other, all it means is that we have to train our brain differently.  Every time you come up with an excuse, come up with a solution and you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals.

Any way you look at it we’re creatures of habit, we sleep on the same side of the bed, eat breakfast in the same chair and watch tv on the same side of the couch.   Look to form positive habits that will take you closer to your end goal.

And finally look at your environment, this is the most important step in changing your life, setting and achieving a sustainable goal.  Surround yourself with positive people, pictures and words, which will all lead to actions that will have you standing in the position of ‘I told you so’.