The Tribune

By Dr Monique Thompson

New Year’s resolutions – how unoriginal of a topic! I am certain that everyone and their grandparents are talking about New Year’s resolutions right now. That being said, I am still most definitely going to talk about it simply because it is worth talking about. Hopefully, you appreciate my small twist to this annual expectation.

The harsh and unintentionally hilarious reality is that a whopping 92 per cent of people will fail at their New Year’s resolutions. In other words, only eight out of 100 people will successfully accomplish their goals. Furthermore, an estimated 25 per cent of people who make resolutions never succeed at them. Why all the failure? What does that eight per cent know that the masses are missing? What are they doing to be successful, or perhaps, what things do they avoid in order to avoid failure?

Research is finding that one of the keys to successfully achieving your resolutions is to have a proactive attitude and explicitly make resolutions. Individuals who do this are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who do not. Simply stated, take time out and set goals. And do not just have them swirling around in that wonderful mind of yours. Write down your goals so they can become real. Something that has been trending for a while now, is the creation of vision boards. These boards go beyond you just writing what you want, but creating an actual visualization of your achieved goals.

Keep it simple and be realistic. The famous quote says, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” There is so much going on at the start of the new year, pressuring yourself with grand ideas of big problems you want to fix right away will only serve as a source of discouragement. Start small, tackle one part of the giant, and have a reasonable and timely deadline for that to be accomplished.

Let your goals be specific. Instead of saying, “I want to lose 20 pounds this year,” try “I am going to lose two pounds per month over the next 12 months.” By doing this, you have broken down a seemingly big task into something achievable, which thwarts disappointment and discouragement. You can go a step further and determine that in month one you will avoid soda and chips; in month two you commit to doing aerobic exercise for 45 minutes twice per week, and so on.

That example leads us into the next point pertaining to successful New Year’s resolutions; let your goals be measurable, so that you can keep track of your progress. Being able to see the small positive changes you’ve made along the way, keeps you motivated. A good friend of mine, who is successful in many ways, always says, “You cannot manage what you do not measure,” and here, what you are measuring is your success.

Let persons close to you know what your plans are. This simple step will give you someone other than yourself to be accountable to. This notion of accountability plays a significant role in goal achievement. For example, I am doing a 90-day encounter to achieving my best self. A part of this goal is the attainment of flawless skin – it’s such a superficial, shallow goal – but it’s one of my goals nonetheless. To personally help me achieve this goal, I am posting my journey on my Facebook page so that my accountability is no longer to myself, but to my viewing audience as well. Should I fail, which I will not, it affects more than just me.

Proverbs 4:23 says: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (The New International Version).

Lastly, but by no means least, believing that you can matters.

I am wishing each and every reader a year filled with fantastic health, unspeakable joy and persistent prosperity. May your cup overflow with blessings all around!

• Dr Monique Thompson is the founder of and a physician at Cornerstone Healing Institute, an integrative and holistic medical clinic. Call 356-0083 or visit www.chibahamas.com for more information.