Why would I make such a seemingly negative statement to start the new year? The simple answer is that it is true. The vast majority of normal, everyday people become less healthy and have a diminishing quality of life over time – sad but true.

      I also understand that anyone reading this article is likely not a normal, everyday person and you are therefore much less likely to suffer the same fate.  In fact, the reason I am writing this article to help to ensure that you do not.

     When it comes to health and well-being this is the time of year that people make resolutions. I have seen dozens of articles about New Year resolution pop up on social media. I have written many articles on resolutions over the years. The problem with resolutions is that they almost never stick and not only do we not follow through they can actually harm us by chipping away at our resolve and self esteem. So, instead of leading us to our best self we just get one year sicker and more miserable.

     It doesn’t have to be that way but in order to get a different result, we must take a different approach.

     One of the main issues I see with resolutions (through personal experience btw) is that they are GOAL FOCUSED. It could be ‘lose 20 pounds,’ or ‘squat 500lbs,’ or ‘run a marathon,’ or other goals regarding our career or finances. Don’t get me wrong, I think having clearly written goals is a good thing. However placing most of our focus on the endgame can be a recipe for disappointment and disaster.

     The problem with focusing on the end goal is that it can distract us from what is  most important which are the habits and systems that move us in the right direction. Habits and systems that we implement daily are a lot less sexy than victory at the end yet they are absolutely necessary. As James Clear points out in his book Atomic Habits, ‘You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.’

     Why is it advantageous to focus on habits and systems over goals? The first is that there are many ways to achieve a goal, but is it healthy in both the short and long-term? Is achieving it in that manner sustainable? You can lose 20lbs with a crash diet or diet pills but for how long can you keep that up? What other costs will you have to pay for that approach (health, well-being)? Focusing on eating a good breakfast each morning is not as exciting and may require more time but the long-term outcome will be far superior.

     Another problem with being goal focused is that you can do a lot of great work (habits) before there is any obvious pay off. Does that mean you are failing? It can take a fair bit of time before healthy breakfasts and exercising show up on the scale. Perhaps your weight remains the same but you are gaining muscle and losing fat. Does that mean you should stop? Don’t let the goal distract you from what is best for you.

     The other question is what happens after you reach your goal (on the small chance you do)? Most people slide right back into old habits and end up worse than when they started. The super ambitious then up their goals to a higher standard. This is great, but what if they systems they used are not sustainable?

     This year, I give you permission to put the resolutions on the back burner. Focus on habits. Once your new habit becomes ingrained in your life (systematized), add another one. Instead of focusing on the outcome, place your attention on getting just 1% better every day. That is the only way to become healthier and happier in 2020.

Let’s face it – very rarely do we keep our New Year resolutions. Or in the face of repeated failure we no longer even make them, passing them off as something only “silly, lesser people” do as if we have evolved beyond them. Seriously, regardless of the time of year how often do we actually keep our promises to ourselves? If we did, we would all have 6 pack abs, buns of steel, be independently wealthy, travel the world and be in a fairy tale relationship!

Learn from Your Success…and Failures

Yet, once in a while we get it right. We make the change and make it stick for the long term. Sometimes we are successful at quitting smoking, losing weight, saving the money, starting a business or transforming the relationship. This begs the question of, “why?” What made it work this time? How was it different than the 26 times I failed?

Over the next few articles we will be looking at these questions and helping you to discover and implement your own formula for success that will help you to make 2012 the best year of your life. By the end of this series you will no longer just hope that this will be the year everything works – you will know that applying your personal success formula will create the result you are looking for.

Because many of you may still be hung-over from all of the food, drink and excess of the holidays, we will ease into this process by talking about our Ultimate Vision for life.

What is Your Ultimate Vision?

It is common that our efforts for transformation and change become sabotaged because we are not clear about our ultimate vision for our lives. We may set a goal to exercise 1 hour every day with the intent to transform our body, but if one of our highest values is spending time with our family we may unconsciously be pulled to not exercise as it takes away from family. Someone who wants to quit smoking yet cherishes socializing with dear friends who are smokers may experience a similar conflict.

The great news is that all of these conflicts can be creatively negotiated, but our vision for our lives must be consciously chosen and defined in order to do so. Between this week and next, spend some quiet time alone and write out your vision for your life. It is important to include all aspects of your life: body, learning, finances, habits, career, leisure, family and friends. Go into as much detail as possible and include the feelings and emotions that will accompany your life.

If you struggle with this exercise, stay with it. Often the streams of ideas that come just after you want to quit are the most true and profound. To help you can start by making a list of the values you want in your life. This could be compassion, integrity, patience, excitement, learning, etc. Another helpful exercise is to write out what your perfect day would be like. What would you do, who would you do it with, and how would you feel?

Some Homework

Having a clearly defined Ultimate Vision for your life is the first step finally making the changes you deserve. Read this vision once per day for the next few days. You know you have it when reading it gets you excited inside. Feel free to refine the wording to maximize this effect.

Next article we will begin to discover your personal formula for success.

I will be presenting a complimentary workshop of the same name as this article on Tues. January 17^th at Gault Family Chiropractic and Wed. January 25^th at Caveman Strong. Seating will be limited so phone to reserve your spot.