Way back in February 2019 I wrote an article titled New Month’s Resolution. This was obviously my slant on the annual post-Christmas durge of good intentions that we all know as New Year’s Resolutions. But my point in this article is: why wait until the New Year to address any bad habits that you have or start some new good habits. As we approach Christmas I suggest that we take a look at possible New Year’s Resolutions but start on that path now before 2021 begins.

Way back in February 2019 I wrote an article titled New Month’s Resolution. This was obviously my slant on the annual post-Christmas durge of good intentions that we all know as New Year’s Resolutions. But my point in this article is: why wait until the New Year to address any bad habits that you have or start some new good habits. As we approach Christmas I suggest that we take a look at possible New Year’s Resolutions but start on that path now before 2021 begins.

If you hit the New Year running, pun most definitely intended, having already established six weeks of changed behaviour, routines and habits then you are much more likely to continue with it after Christmas and succeed with your goals for the longer term.

Think of it as a practice run for the main event.

And help yourself to stick with these habits more by changing the wording of your resolutions. “I’m going to give up alcohol, eat healthily, exercise every day and stop smoking” is a sure fire recipe for failure. And really the only failure is unrealistic goal setting.

How about this for a more realistic resolution: “In November I am going to reduce the amount of processed food that I eat whilst doing some form exercise that I enjoy a couple of times a week. In December I will cut down on the cigarettes and alcohol in preparation for Christmas”

I can almost guarantee that you will succeed (no guarantee actually given). You will hit the festive season feeling better physically and mentally with a head start on the New Year, you will be able to enjoy Christmas guilt free and possibly even continue with a watered down version of this lifestyle change through those two weeks. And when it comes to January you will simply be re-engaging with your already established routine rather than starting a new one.

Imagine if your goal was reduce a dress size by the end of January and you had already done that in November/December.

Small goals, regularly revisited, consistently applied