New Years is Around the Corner and So Are Your Resolutions

New Years is almost here and with it comes a host of resolutions and on the top of many lists is the 4 biggies; lose weight, start exercising, stop smoking, and eat healthy. Many New Year revolutionist start with big goals, boundless motivation and an extensive plan that seems fool proof. We all know though, that as the days wind through January and then February our will power exhausts, our drive is depleted and our goals are left on the curbside.

There is nothing wrong with trying to improve yourself and the first day of the new year is a motivational time to begin. There is something to be said for a blank slate that is just waiting for inspirational goals. I always have a resolution list as long as my arm and I don't think I have ever kept to any of them long term, but ladies and gentleman, I am declaring 2019, the year of the resolution revolution.

If you know me, you know that I read self help books ad nauseam. You can say that I might need a self help book to get me to stop reading self help books, but my friends, this one is different and it is going to change my life, at least my bad habits.

The book I am talking about is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. The book is all about habits; how we create them, how to break them, how they basically make up our life style. Did you ever go on a diet at 8am only to find yourself in the McDonald's drive thru at 5pm of the same day. This is because of habits and the old adage is right, old habits die hard.

I learned that about 40% of our day consists of habits that we have created over a long period of time, repeating the same activity over and over. Activities such as brushing our teeth, driving a car, typing on a computer, we do not consciously think about, we just do them.

This is because they are habits. When doing research on rats, scientists found that when rats created a habit, such as running a maze in order to retrieve a treat, the rat's brain had almost the same activity level as when they were asleep. I have realized that we, my fellow human beings, are exactly like rats.

The book explains that habits are stored in a part of your brain called the basal ganglia. The area of the brain that is involved with thinking and planning is the frontal lobe. When trying to change our bad habits that make up our life style, you must over ride the basal ganglia and use your frontal lobe. This process can make us uncomfortable, exhausted and down right crabby.

So what does all this have to do with my new years resolution to lose weight. It has everything to do with it. Much of our life style is habits; what we eat, what we do, what we think. They are ingrained habits and you have to fight to change them. Any new habits will be met with resistance from our little rat brains and any old habits, will die hard. It is an uphill battle on both fronts, but one I believe is worth fighting.

The best way to change habits, is slowly and take one or two at a time, otherwise we feel drained, frustrated and this is the time that we quit. When people tried to change only one or two habits at a time, they had much more success and then they could build on that progress.

So I put my new found knowledge to the test. Small changes are the key and I did just that, starting with 2 small habits that I wanted to create. #1. Putting on my seat belt before I started to drive #2. Drinking 4 glasses of water a day. The book tells you that if you pair your new habit with an existing behavior, you will remember to do it more readily, so I followed that advice.

For putting on my seat belt, I created the habit of pausing before I started the car. This little habit of pausing, created a space for my brain to catch up and remember to put on my seat belt. It took about 3 weeks for this habit to take hold. I am now putting on my seat belt before I start the car, by habit.

For drinking water, I paired it with eating. Whenever I eat a meal, I drink a glass of water first. Again, it took about 3 weeks for this to become a habit. I would say that this little experiment was a success. I started two new habits that made my life healthier. I am hooked and I am working on 2 new micro habits. They are picking out my clothes before I go to bed and making my bed every morning.

Now, I just want to say that I am the last person to be giving advise about any of this, so take it all with a grain of salt, but let me tell you that if I can create a new habit, any body can. So, before you start on your resolutions, read the The Power of Habit and let me know how you are doing. Good luck my friends.