by | March 2023 | Hypnotherapy
Why is it so hard to achieve those elusive New Year’s Resolutions? Research confirm that most smokers take thirty or more attempts before they give up smoking.[1]
People whose goal is to lose weight are often successful until they hit a stressful event that triggers them to seek comfort in their old friend, food.
Have a look at these statistics from InsideOut Mastery, November 2022.[2]
“43% of all people expect to fail before February, and almost one out of four quit within the first week of setting their
New Year’s resolution.
Most people quit before the end of January, and only 9% successfully keep their New Year’s resolutions.”
How can you better prepare to not be a statistic?
- Plan, plan and plan some more.
Change takes time, resources and motivation. Ask yourself before you start and as you go along, things like –
- Am I 100% committed to this goal? When and how am I going to achieve it e.g. what time am I going to go to the gym? Do I have the right food in the house that will support me?
- Once I start, what’s going to motivate me to keep going? What’s my mojo like for each goal? What’s going to sustain that mojo over time? Will I give myself permission to have a day off here and there?
- Who’s going to be my support team to help me keep going? Someone I can talk to or text to give me a boost?
- Importantly, what’s my plan if I have a slip-up and lose my mojo? How am I going to get my goal mojo back? How am I going to manage stressful events, so they don’t derail me?
2) Realise that change is uncomfortable.
Doing the same thing is comfortable and that’s why it’s called a comfort zone.
In addition to experiencing discomfort during change, you have your inbuilt saboteur: your mind and your body have a story about the current you that says, “stay here, be comfortable, it’s much much easier the current way”.
Manage the discomfort and your personal saboteur by taking change day by day –
- Manage that little voice in your head that says “this is too hard” or “why bother”. Challenge that annoying voice by saying “is this too hard? No, it’s just different. I want this change. I’m liking being different”.
- Create a new story where you see yourself in the future, exactly as you will be when you achieve your goals. Do this by closing your eyes and imagining yourself in six months or in a year as the new future you – smiling, happy, healthy, at your ideal weight, in control and confident, living the life you want. See that image, feel that and believe it, because that’s your new story. Say to yourself every day “this is what I want. This is who I am”.
- Change your language.
If you find yourself saying things like “this is too hard, I’m too busy or I’m fine the way I am” or blaming others or circumstances you will set yourself up to fail.
You must believe in your new story, the new you and stay positive about your goals. Change your language to “I’ve got this. This is what I want. Change is different, sometimes hard, but fun.”
The Daily Practice
The Daily practice helps reinforce your new story.
Split your day into chunks and rehearse your day with visualisation and positive language. Do this as you lay in bed in the morning before you open your eyes or take a moment in the shower.
Imagine your day –
- Getting out of bed – say I’m feeling great, happy and looking forward to having a fun day.
- Breakfast with the family (or the cat) is so relaxing, I’m feeling in control of my day.
- Travelling to work – normal calm, smooth commute, easy, fast
- Morning – super productive meeting
- Lunch – great lunch, excellent food
- Leaving work on time, excited to be going home/out with friends
- Evening – relaxed happy, had some great chats today
- Sleep – I’m loving sleeping so deeply and peacefully.
Professional sports people use this process, and there is significant research that proves this works.
When you chunk your day down like this, you can focus on having a good day and getting things done. If you hit a bump during the day that throws you, you can manage it because it’s only part of your day.
Increase your success and decrease your chances of being a statistic by giving the above tools a go. Maybe add a personal mantra like “I’ve got this. I want this” for when the going gets tough.
New Year’s Resolutions don’t have to be made on New Year’s Day, just when you are ready.
Moving Forward
If you are sensing resistance to your goals or it’s just not working for you, and you can’t figure out why we’d recommend doing a few hypnotherapy sessions with an accredited HCA and GoAH* Hypnotherapist.
Hypnosis will often help you find the missing key to successfully achieve your goals.
* Hypnotherapy Council of Australia (HCA)
Guild of Australian Hypnotherapists (GoAH)
Authors
Helen McLucas and Sally Duncan are Accredited HCA and GoAH Clinical Hypnotherapists and Counsellors.
Helen practices at New You Hypnotherapy in Sydney, Australia.
Find out more about Helen on her website – nyhsydney.com.au.
Sally practices at Reset Hypnotherapy in the Snowy Mountains, New South Wales (NSW).
Find out more about Sally on her website – resethypnotherapy.com.au
© Helen McLucas and Sally Duncan NSW, Australia. 2023. All Rights Reserved. Winning the Battle and Achieving your New Year’s Resolution
[1] https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/6/e011045
[2] https://insideoutmastery.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/