From a Journey to a Lifestyle - Recognize, Replace, Re-focus
As we enter into a new year we become inundated with “what is your New Year’s Resolution.” More than likely each one of us has set a resolution with the best intentions to stick to it. “According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton, just 8 percent of people achieve their New Year's goals, while around 80 percent fail to keep their New Year's resolutions, says US clinical psychologist Joseph Luciani.Dec 21, 2018 (New York Post December 21, 2018). Wow this statistic is crazy! The odds are definitely against you according to this.
So based on this the vast majority of us are bound to fail at our resolutions, the question is how do you respond when you “fail” at your resolutions or goals you set for yourself. How you choose to respond to this “failure” is very important. How we speak to ourselves and how we think about ourselves can make all the difference. I have heard so many people speak so negatively about themselves, beat themselves up when they “mess up on a diet or miss workouts, or just plain self sabotage” when it comes to resolutions or goals. To be very honest I am guilty of this also. I promise myself that I’m going to eat healthy, workout more regularly, keep a journal, etc. and each and every time I messed up I felt horrible about myself and the negative self talk began. How many of you can relate?
It wasn’t until I began to adjust my focus that my inner monologue changed. I know you might be thinking you make it sound so simple, but it is something I need to be mindful of each and every day. It is so easy to become discouraged when we don’t see the results we are looking for or if we fall off the wagon and to start the negative self talk. Why do we do this to ourselves? Why does this seem to be our initial reaction? What I have found that has worked for me is that anytime I noticed a negative thought coming into my mind about myself I needed to replace it with something true and positive.
Recognize, Replace, Refocus:
Recognize when you have a negative thought about yourself, Replace it with something true and positive.
Refocus (change your focus) on your goals and how you will get back on track.
This brings me back to the title of my blog: From a Journey to a Lifestyle. In order to fully reach your goals it is imperative to make it a lifestyle instead of just a quick fix. This transformation begins inside of you, with your self talk and will then transcend into all facets of your life.
How you speak to yourself makes all the deference! Begin each day with....
“Today I will do ‘this’ (whatever this may be for you) because this will help me to reach my goal (whatever your goal is)”.
So let’s start 2020 with a renewed commitment to yourself by becoming your own biggest cheerleader!