Are the Holidays tough on you (3)
By Dr. Michael Brooks
Have you started making or thinking about your New Year’s resolutions? You know the ones that you made last year and didn’t keep. Like the “I’m going to the gym and workout to lose the weight I gained from last year.” Or the most famous one, “I’m going to eat healthy this year and stick to a strict diet that will help me lose 30 pounds.” Whatever..bla, bla, and bla! We’ve all said it haven’t we? Me included. I told myself, Mike…don’t eat those fries, they’re not good for you!!! I came back with..what, I’ll eat them in moderation, only a few. Well my friends the few turned out to be a lot more then I planned to eat. I felt so guilty in eating them.
When you forgive you can move forward with your life
Today we want to talk about making realistic goals that will help you keep those goals for this coming New Year. First of all if you’re planning to lose weight, stop smoking or kick a bad habit you have to decide why you are setting those goals. Are they your goals, or someone else’s? If the doctor told you that you better quit smoking because you’re a candidate for lung issues and to prevent further damage you better quit. Then that is a pretty good reason to quit. If it’s a weight problem and you’re not fitting into clothes that you like to wear, then that’s a resolution without someone suggesting you need to lose weight. You decided that.
I had a friend tell me that resolutions are made to be broken, especially New Year’s resolutions. I don’t agree with that. I think they’re broken because people don’t understand the personal self-agreement that they make with themselves. What is the purpose and reason we make these resolutions? Most people don’t have a clue. Maybe a friend says “I’m going on a diet,” and you say to yourself..me too! With no thought behind it whatsoever. If you’re going to make a resolution, then plan it out. Make a step by step plan, how does it work and look like and the biggest thought here, is it realistic?
I think people make these New Year’s resolutions on a whim and give no thought behind it. Like working out at your gym. Every year I see new faces of men and women at my gym who had good intentions of losing weight and getting into good physical condition. Each week we see fewer and fewer of them. Until the end of the month, we don’t see hardly any of them. It’s amusing but sad.
Here is a list of common broken New Year’s resolutions.
• Losing weight
• Going on a diet
• Asking for a raise
• Taking a vacation
• Reading books
• Balancing your check book
• Mending broken relationships
• Quit Smoking
• Less drinking
• Get out of debt and save money
• Eating healthy foods and improve your health
If you’re serious about making some changes in your life for next year, then start planning and making realistic ones that you can commit to. I have seen and heard people make some pretty outlandish New Year’s resolutions. I had a man tell me that he was going to lose 100 pounds in 6 months. There was no way he would be able to do this. He never exercised or dieted. I think he was hoping that he could do this with other people inspiring him. You have to be accountable for your resolutions and be able to stick to them. He had great intentions but never got even close to reaching the goal of 100 pounds lost.
If you do plan to have New Year’s resolutions, write them out, go over them and put dates next to your goals and keep tabs on them. You can do this!
Are you struggling with the loss of a family member, spouse or friends and are having a difficult time moving forward? Is Christmas so painful that you dread this time of year and need help in getting past the holidays? Are you hurting over a divorce or are separated and need to talk to someone about the pain you’re experiencing? Do you need help in planning how to get through the holidays? If you answered yes to any of these questions give Dr. Mike a call he can help you get through the holidays.
Dr. Michael Brooks is the founder of Applicable Counseling and Life Coaching Services. His services are affordable, accessible, anonymous and available by appointment from the privacy of your own home. To avoid travel time and the comfort of home, many clients prefer to meet with Dr. Mike over the phone 303.456.0555 or via Skype at drmike45. If you’re interested skyping with Dr. Mike send him an e-mail and let him know who you are and your skype name. The convenience of this type of coaching is the most effective means of Life counseling and life coaching. We come to you when you need us most.