Doncaster, South Yorkshire -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/03/2013 -- As a therapist Brian Watson spends his life helping people with things that they have tried to achieve themselves every January for years as part of their New Years promises to themselves. Some have been New Years resolutions for many years, year in and year out and never been accomplished but there are a few simple reasons as to why many fail and how you can give yourself a better chance of success in 2014.
Pick One Thing
Here's the biggest mistake made by 99% of the people when it comes to falling short of their New Years Resolutions.
Too many people throw everything but the kitchen sink at their New Years Resolutions and try and take on way too much at once. Instead of promising yourself you will never eat sugary foods, you'll exercise more, stop smoking, grow your business, be a better partner, save more of your income for a rainy day etc. stop and think...
Taking on too much becomes overwhelming and a domino effect takes place as a persons resolve wanes and they give up on everything, feeling overwhelmed.
To give yourself the best chance of success, decide which one of your resolutions is the most important to you?
Whichever resolution you believe to be the most important is the one that you should take on, and plan out properly in order to give yourself the biggest chance of success. Remember, the more you take on, the more you spread yourself too thinly, the more difficult it will be to do one thing and do it well.
Plan For It In December
While it may sound great as you hear yourself make slurred promises to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, if you want to do Robert Burns justice then you need to plan and plan early.
Blurting something out while drunk may impress everyone (including yourself) at the stroke of midnight but it will soon be forgotten about when you wake up with a bad head on January 1st and reach for the snooze button so, to combat this you should start planning early so that your subconscious mind takes on board the idea that it is going to happen.
Planning in early to mid in December will give you a far better chance of success and it will also give you time to perform perhaps one of the most critical steps, visualisation.
For great tips on goal setting and how to plan S.M.A.R.T. Goals you can download a free guide at http://www.brianwatsonassociates.com and click on the link on the left named “Resources.”
Visualise it
What most people don't realise is that the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between something that is real and something that is imagined and so acting like it has already happened and visualising your goal vividly and powerfully on a daily basis will really crank your brain up for success. It is also one of the reasons why people get “stuck in a rut” repeating the same bad habits over and over again because they are getting more of what they are focussing on.
Try this every morning. Take 10 minutes out for yourself in a comfy chair when you wont be disturbed and simply allow your eyes to close, let yourself relax and get a sense of what it will feel like to have already reached your goal. Let that feeling wash over the whole of your body and really enjoy those great feelings.
Get a sense of how you will feel, how you'll look, what will change in your life for the better? The more you do this, the stronger the images and sensations will be as you create new neural pathways in your brain of you already reaching your goal and achieving it.
What you are actually doing is creating is a map of how to get there that your subconscious can follow and memories of how it will feel so it knows how to look, act and behave.
28 days
It is well known among the coaching and therapy community that it takes approximately 28 days to make or break a habit, which is why the virtual gastric band weight loss programme used for the clients of Brian Watson Associates is a 4 week programme. That 4 weeks of positive direction, support and planning really makes a difference in changing habits and it will work for you too.
So, starting to plan in early to mid December, setting your goals and sticking with it for at least 28 days into the New Year will increase your success rate immeasurably.
Another thing that will boost your chances of success is to make sure you have some support.
Seek Support
There are many sources you can seek support from such as a professional therapist or coach, family or friends and each have their own advantages and disadvantages. A professional will charge you money, however you will get better, more focussed results and support. Although family and friends wont charge you they are not professionals and their support may well peter off towards the end as they have busy lives too.
Whoever you do choose make sure that they wont be soft on you and let you get away with not committing to your goals and that they also have your best interests in mind. It's not always the case but a partner who doesn't want to stop smoking themselves may not want their other half to stop either. It's something to be mindful of.
Accountability
Don't hide away from the world, tell them! When making your resolution, let people know and let them know that you intend to stick to it and take accountability. If you risk ending up with egg on your face for falling short of your goals then you will be more determined to make a go of it and be a success.
You can also enlist the help of an accountability partner who can call or email you to check how you are doing. This could be a friend, family member or work colleague who wants to help and it's even better if they are wishing to achieve the same goal as you because you can do the same for each other. And finally...
Motivation
Human beings are either motivated by moving towards something good or away from something bad. So take some time to think about what it is that truly motivates you? For instance if you want to lose weight then losing weight will not be your motivation, however feeling fitter may be. For others looking better or getting into a suit or dress for their daughters wedding may be the important motivator. When you decide what your true motivation is you can use that in your daily visualisations and build it into your goal setting.
So, there you are., you now have enough information to go out and achieve your New Years resolution with confidence and determination. Just remember to start early, be positive, plan ahead and go for it! Remember to help you in your planning you can download a free guide at www.brianwatsonassociates.com and click on the link on the left named “Resources.”
About Brian Watson
Brian Watson is an Ericksonian hypnotherapist and trainer providing motivation, inspiration, and information to the general public and corporations throughout the United Kingdom. Brian has over two decades of experience in hypnosis and Neuro Linguistic Programming and currently teaches other therapists on a PGC course at Birkbeck University London.
Contact Information
Contact Person: Brian Watson
Contact Number: 07519 893 555
Email: info@brianwatsonassociates.com
Website: http://www.brianwatsonassociates.com