New Years Resolutions?

It’s that time again, the bins are full of wrapping paper awaiting the local councils to collect and most of us are feeling bloated and tired.

But today, we make a resolution to change! To lose weight, stop smoking, be a better person, get a better job or whatever drives you. But how long do we keep on with this decision to change?

Statistics show that only as few as 3% of these new resolutions are still in effect on the 1st of February, so how can we increase or chance of change?

Much research has been done over the years into the subject of motivation, what stimulus creates a desire to do something? Overall it has been agreed that people fall into two categories, those who move away from pain and those who move towards pleasure (stick and carrot motivations). "Ah that's me!" you may think but it's a little more complicated than that.
Dependant on the context i.e. be it in a family situation, work or maybe with a friend you may behave differently (because of your internal belief and value system). So in a situation say, like work you may do things because your boss tells you to and you worry about losing your job and this works for you, but other people will be motivated by promises of promotion or extra income and enjoy the extra work because of this.

Also people have different degrees of how much carrot (moving towards pleasure) and how much stick (moving away from pain) they prefer. So your boss could say if they knew you were mostly motivated by the carrot incentive but required a small amount of stick, "If you complete that work by Friday I am going to reward you all with free drinks at the bar, but if it's not done you will have to stay over Monday until it's done."

Imagine if you knew what motivated you, or if you knew what motivated those people in your life, how much easier would your life be?

Write down your goals for the new year in the present tense i.e. “I exercise regularly and am slim and healthy!”, then allow yourself to become comfortable in a quiet place and close your eyes. Picture this person that you want to become, what do they look like, how do they move, how and what do they say to themselves?

When you are happy with the movie of this new you, rewind it and step into that new you. See what they see, hear what they hear and feel what they feel.

Do this exercise each night before bed and each morning upon awakening to reprogramme your unconscious mind for these successful outcomes!

Happy New Year!

Nick