Acupuncture New Year’s Resolutions
January 6th, 2009
Acupuncture New Year’s Resolutions
If you’ve failed at keeping your New Year’s resolutions in the past, it may have to do with the goals you’ve chosen and how you implement change, reports the January issue of the Harvard Health Letter.
What doesn’t work? One common mistake is to have too many goals. Another formula for failure is to set your sights on behaviors that are too vague. A third pitfall is setting goals that are too lofty.
What does work? Researchers say you’re more likely to achieve goals that match your own interests and values, rather than those that reflect outside pressures or expectations. In other words, you’re more likely to keep a resolution if the motivation is coming from you, not someone else.
Another frequent finding is that to achieve a goal, you must come up with a strategy for doing so that’s rooted in practical steps. Tie the desired behaviors to common events or to habits you already have, so the new behavior becomes more or less automatic.
And how does perfectionism impact goal achievement? Researchers report that subjects with perfectionist tendencies that are integral to their personalities fare well with step-by-step plans for pursuing a goal.
Pick your resolution carefully. Whether it’s losing weight, developing healthy habits such as diet and exercise, becoming more organized, developing a new skill or talent, or getting out of debt, back it up with concrete strategies about how to achieve it.
A New Year’s resolution can be completed in less than a year. Set a deadline to meet a resolution which includes weekly tasks to achieve realistic results. In making a New Year’s resolution, break larger tasks into smaller ones to stay on track with achieving your goal.
In making a New Year’s resolution, commit your resolution by recording it in a notebook or journal. When making a New Year’s resolution, you should write down your plan so that it identifies what to do next and the steps required to complete the goal. You must harness your motivation. Journal writing can be effective in keeping a New Year’s resolution, requiring daily action and review with a clear purpose.
If you are making a New Year’s resolution that includes difficult goals, you must remember to acknowledge partial success. In keeping up with making a New Year’s resolution, commitment is the secret of success. To be successful, you must have a strong commitment to make behavior changes and keep track of your progress.
For information about acupuncture for health and wellness call Dr. Richard Browne, Acupuncture Physician, at (305) 595-9500.
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