Reaching New Year's Resolutions

Katie Obee
Kappa Alpha Theta

When you think of New Year’s resolutions, what comes to mind? I think of IM West and Powerhouse swarming with new gym-goers, all eager to shed a few pounds or build some muscle. For all of you who have a healthy, year-round relationship with the gym, thoughts of the January gym scene may trigger feelings of annoyance, anxiety and claustrophobia. Lucky for you, most of these people will have broken up with their resolutions before ever shedding a pound and your gym will be restored to its original condition by February. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the following statistics on New Year’s resolutions and you just might change your mind.

-  Only 45% of Americans consistently set resolutions each year

-  17% infrequently set resolutions

-  38% have never set a New Year’s resolution

-  Only 8% of people are always successful in achievement of their resolutions

- 19% achieve their resolutions every other year

-  49% have infrequent success AND 24% never succeed and have failed every year!

So what does that mean? It means that three out of four people never succeed in reaching their goals.  Now if you are among those who set resolutions at the start of a new year and typically fall short of success, have no fear—sticking to resolutions IS possible and you CAN establish a steady relationship with IM west, or end your relationship with cigarettes. The key to achieving what you want is simple: be realistic and think ahead in your goal setting. Proper goal setting is the first step toward success. I mean think about it—setting a weight loss goal of 30 pounds in two weeks is setting you up for immediate failure because the goal itself is impossible! Let’s face it: change is the goal, and change is hard work! There are really no shortcuts, but looking at the pay-off versus the trade-off can help.

If each time you are tempted to break your resolution you can be mindful enough to STOP and THINK, what is the pay-off and what is the trade-off.  For example, imagine you have just gone for a long run (a realistic 2 miles, not 10 miles that will make you never want to go again) and feel great about your accomplishment. Upon entering your apartment you find your roommates taking giant spoons to a gallon container of your favorite Ben and Jerry’s chocolate ice cream. STOP and THINK. Payoff: If I grab a spoon from the drawer and dig in I will be in heaven, for the moment, and it will taste so good it will be worth it.  Trade off: If I walk past the temptation then in a few short months when the weather is getting warmer and I want to fit into my clothes from last summer, I will not have sabotaged all of the good things I have done to reach my goal (just a little bit of girl-thought for all you girls to relate to and all you guys to laugh at).

This elementary ‘think-before-you-act’ technique can be applied to all of your goals in some way or another and can help if you can delay the immediate tangible consequences in order to reap the delayed intangible consequences. So remember, the solution is simple: be realistic and think ahead. I wish you all the best of luck in reaching your New Year’s resolutions. Happy 2012!

Katie is a junior studying communication and public relations. You may contact her at katie@odyssey-midwest.com.