Resolutions stink. The new year holds so much promise, I hate to think about mucking it up with resolutions that most of us break before the New Years noisemakers are put away. Franklin Covey compares how resolutions have changed over the last ten years that they’ve been tracking them. My goal to improve my overall health is in line with the third most popular resolution.
So here’s a shocker. This year, I’ve got a 30-day January goal, because I know I can be succesful for 30 days without setting myself up for resolution failure. I’m going to try to tame my sweet tooth, which gets really fierce at 3 pm and 8 pm. So, no more candy and yucky carb binges at these key times.
Thirty days. This is do-able.
The best tool I know of to help increase the chance of success is SMART. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Applicable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Instead of a vague wish to eat healthier, here is my plan:
Specific
Eliminate afternoon and evening sugar binges. Fruit will replace the junk. When I just need to keep my mouth busy, I’ll pop some Trident.
Measurable
This is a binary function. I either do or don’t indulge on a daily basis. But I’m not cutting out all sweets, just binges. You know what I mean. (Crud, when is Girl Scout Cookie season??? I may be in trouble already.)
Applicable
I’m not trying to lose weight, although that may happen. I’m trying to improve my health overall, even out my energy levels through the day, and improve my oral health. Candy can be hard on your teeth.
Realistic
I’ve loved sweets all my life, so I’ve got to have alternatives on hand, because a total swearing off just won’t work. Did you read this month’s Getting It Together newsletter for my roasted vegetable recipe? Today’s pot of roasted veggies included:
white potatoes
carrots
onions
garlic cloves
yellow pattypan squash
broccoli
white button mushrooms
Here’s what one of my readers had to say, just today: I love reading your newsletter; you always have a good story and some timely advice. This month you also had a wonderful recipe that I made and loved.! I couldn’t believe how tasty the veggies were, and they required so little preparation. Very healthy too! Thank you for the recipe!
Time bound
A 30 day moratorium is reasonable. I figure I can do anything for 30 days.
Experts agree that accountability also drastically improves the chances of succeeding in your goals. So now that I’ve told a few of my favorite friends what I’m up to for the new year, it was really hard to give in and mess up today. I ended up with just two small squares of chocolate and a handful of honey roasted peanuts, and that was mostly because I had a bad start to the day by accidentally skipping breakfast.
I hope you’ll let me know what you are up to this New Year, so we can support each other. If you haven’t written it down, use SMART to guide your planning.
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