This time last year I started to develop a 3 part video series on what I believe is the real reason why people fail at following through on their New Year’s resolutions.

Then during a recent call to my brother he pointed out that I too had dropped the ball and failed on putting together parts 2 and 3 of the series…

Let’s face it, as great as they may seem- New Years resolutions do not work. According to a study done in 2007 at the University of Bristol 80 percent of people who make New Years resolutions have failed by January 20th.

The study followed 3000 individuals whom in my opinion were destined to fail before they began.

At the onset of the study only 52 percent of those involved were confident they would follow through and stick to their resolution. That’s a little less than half of the gents in the study that decided from the start they wouldn’t make it. Talk about setting yourself up for failure.
 

Why is it New Years resolutions are so hard to follow through with?

 
Most people (me included) have amazing intentions of kicking the New Year off on the right foot, wiping the slate clean and accomplishing some major goals. Only to wind up in our old routines a few days later, goals and aspirations pushed aside until next year.

Today’s date is January 17, leaving us 3 days until most give up on what we set out to accomplish earlier in the year. I read somewhere it takes 21 days to adopt a new habit into your routine. Therefore our goal over the next 3 days is to take a look at the mindset behind lifestyle change in order to make it past January 20th and beyond.

If you were one of the smart people that already knew resolutions didn’t work and decided not to set any goals or resolutions for yourself this year, this will be your opportunity to start now and do it right.
 

Getting back on track

 
As I set out to do last year, let’s get at it and tackle the first step in the 3 Phases to any Lifestyle Change; Realization of the Need for Change.

There is a big difference between the simple awareness of not being what you once were, and the admission that your current lifestyle and waistline are going to cut years off your life. Only the latter will propel you into taking the necessary steps towards change because realization forces you to take full responsibility for your lifestyle and your body.

A colleague of mine use to treat a patient for years and throughout their time together had tried on numerous occasions to get his patient to quit smoking- but nothing worked.

Then one day the patient walks in and my friend can tell that he has quit smoking. His skin looked more alive and his clothes and hair smelled better. The Doctor congratulated him and asked, “What after all these years inspired you to quit? “

The patient looked back towards my friend and said, “I’ve got emphysema, I had to quit.”

This was his realization of the need for change. He finally decided to quit smoking because he had to. His doctor told him if he didn’t give up smoking, he wouldn’t be able to breathe.

Does this seem like an extreme example? Not really… Think of the countless number of times you’ve heard of someone who waits until they have a heart attack or triple bypass surgery before they start to eat well and exercise.
 

Why wait for the heart attack?

 
Take some time today, look in the mirror and ask, “What aspect (or aspects) of my life can I improve upon?” Then write them down. Once you’ve written it down, sift through and come up with some attainable goals.

The realization of the need for change is the first step in accomplishing a lasting lifestyle change. And because I made a promise to myself and you, I’ll be back tomorrow with step 2 (Planning) of the 3 steps to change and show you what to do with the goals you’ve written down.
 

For a quick explanation have a look at the video below:

Yours in health,

Sean

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