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Informative Articles

Diabetic Diet - Visual Plate Method
Diabetes Diet - Visual Plate Method How do you know what foods to eat? Maybe you like rice or pasta or grits or other starchy foods that need insulin to process these foods. How much of the starchy or carbohydrate (CHO)...
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Almost everyone has attempted to follow diets and weight loss programs at some time in their lives. The trouble with so many diets and low fat diets is that they are hard to follow. Some diets leave you hungry and craving food all the time. A...
Low Fat 15 Minute Stew or Pasta
As I have written in my diet book and several articles, one way to reduce consumption of saturated fats, and gain other benefits of plant foods, is to replace part of four legged meats with such soy foods as tempeh and tofu. These, like ground beef,...
Natural Approaches to Menopause
This past July,a report raised serious new concerns for the six million women taking combination hormone replacement therapy. In the lastest and statistically most valid study of this subject ever done,it was found that the combination of ESTROGEN...
Take The "Die" out Of Dieting - Tips For Stress Free Weight Loss
Not so resolved on that "New Year's Resolution" to be in shape this year? Not quite in the body that you wanted to spend this summer in? Are you sick of counting carb grams and worrying about all of the foods that you "can't eat" ? If You are...
The Top 10 Daily Mind Discipline Practices
Do you find yourself choosing to make changes in your life, wherein you do well implementing your new plan for a few days to a few weeks, only to lose momentum, give up on your new plan and wonder what ever happened to the motivation you once had?...
Tips for Making Your New Years Resolution Work!
Tips for Making Your New Years Resolution Work! By David Junno Psy.D. Many of us make New Year’s resolutions few; of us keep them. In their article “If at First Your Don’t Succeed”, Polivy and Herman cite statistics that: · 25% of New Year’s...
 
Make it Easier to Change those Habits

If you’ve ever tried to change an ingrained habit, or develop a new one, you know that it can be a real struggle, with a lot of self-denial, backsliding, guilt, and frustration. Yet it doesn’t have to be. It’s simply that most people go about changing a habit all wrong. They jump right into it, without any real planning or preparation, hoping to just “gut it out.” As often as not, this approach fails. Here’s why:

1. No focus. Instead of concentrating on one behavior, and working with it until it sticks, many people try to make too big a change all at once. For example, they decide they are going to go on a diet, start exercising and give up smoking all at the same time. Trying to do all that becomes overwhelming, exhausting, and confusing. It’s an almost guaranteed road to failure. Instead, focus only on your top priority – say, losing weight. You can get to the other changes later when you’ve got the first one down.

2. No vision. People don’t have a clear vision of the benefits changing this habit will bring them. By not seeing what they are moving towards, it’s impossible to get - and stay - motivated. Before you get started, write down what you want to change, and why. Spend some time seeing yourself after you’ve successfully made that change. Picture yourself twenty-five pounds lighter. What are you wearing? Where are you going? You’ll be a lot more motivated.

3. No goal. Without a well thought out, specific, measurable goal with a time limit on it, people flounder. “I want to lose weight,” doesn’t have one-tenth the power of, “I want to lose twenty-five pounds by Thanksgiving.” So create a written goal with specifics - and a deadline. That way, you know what you have to do every day to reach it. It’s a lot easier to work with specifics than generalities.

4. No commitment. Often, people think they should change a behavior, or are told that they should, but deep down inside, they don’t want to. So they try to make that change, only to give up after a week or two. Then they feel bad about themselves, figure they’re failures, and give up. The problem lies not in them, but in the lack of


commitment. You’ll never succeed in losing those twenty-five pounds if you’re not truly committed. If you’re not sure that you really want to change a habit, work on your motivation and commitment first! Because without those two, you won’t succeed.

5. No plan. Without a plan, people don’t know what actions they need to take in order to change a habit. And without defined actions, it’s too easy to slip into the default mode – the old behavior. Knowing that you are going to lose those twenty-five pounds by cutting out all snacking in the evening (your personal downfall) tells you exactly what you are going to do.

6. No support. People often try to “go it alone” when they’re trying to change a habit. That only makes it nineteen times harder. Having someone who will cajole, cheer, nag and sympathize along the way helps you stick to your guns. A support buddy reminds you why you’re doing this, celebrates your successes, and keeps you pointed in the right direction. A support buddy will be there to talk you out of eating the entire bag of potato chips at 8:30 in the evening, no matter how loud those potato chips are calling.

So there you are, ready to change a habit without struggling. It will still take hard work and self-discipline, but it will be a lot easier to do that hard work and discipline if you avoid those six mistakes.

NOTE: You are welcome to use this article online in electronic newsletters and e-zines as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info). If use of this article is desired in print, you must first contact Lynn Cutts at Lynn@ManageYourMuse.com.

Copyright 2005 Lynn Cutts

About the Author

Chocolate-loving Life Coach Lynn Cutts’ mission is to change the world for the better, one person at a time. At www.ManageYourMuse.com, she shares free tips, articles, games and newsletters to help you realize your dreams. Lynn offers one-on-one coaching, group coaching and self-guided programs to help you create your own boundless life. Lynn is certified by the Coaches Training Institute, and is a member of the International Coaches Federation.