We’re hours away from the ball dropping on a brand new year. What does your 2019 have in store?

As the new year comes into focus, you’ve likely stepped on the scale, taken a hard look at your exercise plan or thought a few extra seconds while purchasing your carton of cigarettes. This time of year has a way of drawing out our undesirable habits in hopes we can rewrite them in January.

But what happens a few days into the new year? We slip, stumble and stutter on our path toward transformation – and it just knocks all the wind out of our sails.

Should we resolve to do resolutions differently in 2019?

We’ve been setting resolutions for the new year for a while now, dating back as far as 4000 years ago by the ancient Babylonian’s.

During the religious ceremony known as Akitu, the Babylonian’s would make promises to repay any debts and return objects they’d borrowed in the past year. If they were true to their word, they believed the gods would bestow favor on them.

Today, we still follow the practice of setting New Year’s resolutions, partly out of tradition – but also because I believe we truly want to do better with a clean slate and a new year. But it doesn’t change the fact that only 8% of resolutions stick through the entire year … with many resolutions wavering within days and weeks after January 1.

New Year’s improvements instead of resolutions.

Someone once told me, “you can’t eat an elephant in one bite.”

The fact is that we put this enormous pressure on ourselves to make a sweeping overhaul to our less-than-desirable behaviors … and that’s neither practical or plausible. Big changes … the kind of changes that truly stand the test of time … take consistency, persistence and perseverance. Can you do this overnight? Sure! Is that the best strategy for anyone and everyone reading this right now … probably not.

So, I’m proposing you seek improvements instead of overhaul. Set a few micro goals instead of an about-face. Plan for a series of changes rather than quit cold turkey. You’ll see progress as you hit these more realistic milestones – and it will give you the fuel to continue pushing toward your end goal.

We’re your encourager for 2019

It’s also helpful to have an ally, partner or cheer squad in your corner as you push for progress. Count us in for whatever change you seek this new year!

We’ll be sharing some practical advice all throughout January on how to make changes to your diet, stop smoking, improve your physical fitness and much more. We want you to get excited about making changes – and know you have someone cheering you on each step of the way.

Make sure to get our posts delivered to your inbox so you won’t miss a single one when it’s published. If you have questions about making changes to your health or wellness in 2019, you can always reach out to schedule a consultation with me by calling 682.238.3090 or by emailing office@yourfamilydocarlington.com.

Here’s to your health, wealth and success in 2019!