Plan to succeed
| People are waking up today knowing that the party is over. It is time to pay the piper as they say. Celebrating is finished and there are no more excuses to procrastinate. It is the first day of a new year and motivation is running high. Gyms will be overflowing with new memberships. Diet centers will be flooded with people wanting to commit to something to keep them accountable to a weight loss plan. This week is the biggest for diet pill sales and gastric surgeons will be holding “sales” meetings in hospitals and hotels all over the country. All the world woke up today saying “today is the day I begin my diet”.
Fast forward to Feb 1st. It has been one month. Most people will have already abandoned their resolutions and be right back to their old habits and lifestyle. Why does this happen year after year? Why is it that only a small percentage actually keep their resolutions and make progress? There is an old saying that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I think that this is the perfect time to make a plan to succeed. I am a big believer that writing things down somehow gives them power to become reality. I am a list maker. I have found that over the years the goals I write down are the ones I achieve. I can’t explain it, but it has happened too may times for me to argue it. If some of you have gone the diet route over and over only to find yourself falling off track along the way you may want to do something different this time. Start making lists! I have one right now that I am doing for my health goals. I have had a life time problem with blood pressure and diabetes since I was a teenager. My goal this year is to bring them both to normal ranges without any medication. I have kept them under control for the most part since my weight loss 8 years ago, but this past year everything zoomed up again, probably because I am getting older and I gained some weight due to my double knee replacement surgery situation. I have a spiral notebook in my room. I have drawn 3 lines down it making a column for weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar. I have 4 months worth already prepared and dated with my projected goals written in the margin for each week. Just seeing where I want to be in 4 months has already changed my sense of being able to achieve it. It makes me feel like I am on a course that has direction, kind of like a personal GPS for the body! I know I have to do the work to make those goals, but it gives me something to aim for and that motivates me more then leaving it up to chance. Some of you may find it hard to get started on Cambridge. It can be tough those first few days. Having something in writing that you can go and look at can keep you focused on your goal and not on what is in the refrigerator. In fact, put it ON the refrigerator! You may want to make a time line for the first few days. Begin it at the time you wake up and right on to bedtime. Check off the hours that you remain on your plan and note any deviations if any on the way. When you feel tempted go and study your time line. See all the hours that have passed. You won’t want to just throw them away and waste all that effort. Make a weight graph and see the line going down. Even if you have a day when it may go up, you will still see the overall downward trend and it will inspire you. Keep a journal about your emotions. You will see yourself evolve over time as you continue on your weight loss journey. Being able to see yourself changing in body and mind is an awesome experience! Don’t forget to take those pictures along the way too!! None of these things require a great deal of time of effort, but they can be the difference between waking up on Feb 1st 30 pounds lighter and a whole lot healthier, or exactly the same as you are today…or maybe worse. Make your plan to succeed. Don’t fail to plan and then be left sitting there wondering what happened. All of us have what it takes to achieve our goals. No one has an advantage over another due to circumstances. Just look at Oprah! She is intelligent and capable and has every tool for weight loss at her fingertips, and yet it still eludes her. The cover on her January issue of “O” magazine says “How did I let this happen to me again?” She may be one of the richest people in the world, but she is right down there in the muck with the rest of us where weight is concerned. Our motto this year is “2009! It your time to shine!” I really believe that in spite of the uncertainty we are living in right now regarding the war and the the economy and even a new President, we still have power to improve our health and that will have an effect in every aspect of our lives. This is a time to take responsibility for ourselves and make sure that we are prepared for whatever is coming. I have always said that we learn far more about ourselves in times of trial then in times of ease. Strengthen yourself in body and mind and put your life in order. You will discover your potential and it will amaze you what you are capable of achieving! |