From the desk of Owner, Ray Cattaneo......

 

"An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person too." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

 

Every year we see a surge in gym memberships, weight loss programs, and anything fitness related. Generally, there will be a big rush in January and then it will start to calm down right around April. Ultimately, its your choice but what can you do this year differently to avoid becoming one of those statistics?

 

Here are ten ways to avoid New Year's resolution failure:

 

1. Aim for a lifestyle change not a quick fix. Too many people expect to lose all that weight that it took 30 years to put on in 30 DAYS! Well, while it might be possible it will most likely require something that's unrealistic.

 

2. Make sure your goals are realistic and pick activity levels that you can maintain ALL year.

 

3. Create healthy habits by committing to change something weekly, biweekly, or monthly. It's much easier to sustain and stick to a change by focusing on 1 thing at a time. An example would be drinking half my body weight in ounces of water this week and for the next month. Or cutting processed sugar this week.

 

4. Reduce stress all around. This is the #1 killer of American health in my opinion. People stress themselves out in all sorts of ways. Lack of sleep, committing yourself to other peoples wants too much which leads to lack of "me" time, no relaxation or downtime, complaining about your current situation instead of committing to changing it, etc. You cannot sustain a healthy lifestyle if you are constantly in a state of stress.

 

5. Seek out help and variety. Unfortunately we have become a culture of needing constant stimulation. Well, if you plan on going to the gym 3-5 days a week and jumping on the treadmill for 45 minutes every time good luck not getting bored and not hitting a plateau. We are wired to want some variety. Pick something that naturally has variety. Great trainers are good at sticking to the basics while adding variety to still get results. Additionally, going to the gym if you have never touched a weight in your life isn't going to be a sure bet for results unless you're just that good at learning new things or you naturally grasp human anatomy and physiology. Getting advice from a professional, a friend that works out, etc is a much better option.

 

6. Surround yourself with positive people. Yep that's right. I can't tell you how many of our clients embark on a change and start making major changes with our nutrition program and they start to get all sorts of negative or sabotaging comments from friends such as, "that's too strict, alcohol won't kill you, come on it's only one, there's nothing wrong with bread." People will do whatever they can to maintain their comfort zone because they aren't ready for change which means an even tougher transition for you. Over time you must surround yourself with people who have the same long term vision in mind.

 

7. Stop complaining/worrying about other people. This is a huge one. Start paying attention to your words/thoughts/actions daily. It is very rare to find someone conscious enough to walk the path of neutrality. I mean to not be affected by others actions. If it doesn't affect you, why do you care so much? Focus on changing yourself and forget about others this year. They will reap the benefits of the new you once you change but complaining about what others do/say/etc is like pointing a finger with three pointing back at you.

 

8. Have an open mind. If you're not where you want to be, it's probably because you still have something more to learn and apply. There is always someone out there that knows more than you. One of the best tips I've ever gotten is model successful systems. Don't try and reinvent the wheel. Take advice from someone who's been there before and be open to learning. Approaching anything with a closed mind is asking for failure.

 

9. Do what you love and find a way to make $ doing it. Why is this on the list? Well, you probably spend at least 40hrs a week at work. That's roughly 25% of your weekly time. If you're lucky you spend about 40% of your time sleeping. That's leaves 35% for family, fun, etc. And I'm probably grossly underestimating how much time is dedicated to work for most. The point is if you're doing something you hate, you are ALWAYS in a stressed out state. There are many ways to do what you love, but you have to be willing to put in the effort for sure. You will never wake up happy if you do not change this and it will continue to affect your life daily including how you feel.

 

10. Turn off your cable. Yes I said it! If you want to accomplish more, learn more, and spend more time living life turn off your cable! TV has become a modern day distraction and influence. Without trying to sound like a Nazi here.....you would be much better off reading books, hanging out with family/friends, listening to audio books, writing, etc. If you absolutely need something, keep Netflix :)

 

11. Invest in personal development tools. I cannot express enough how important this is. Whether it be a mastermind group (people who have your same interests/goals), a motivational speaker series, audio books, seminars, etc this one step is absolutely crucial. Here's why.....everyday we are bombarded with negativity. It comes from multiple sources but it can be crowded out. The more you listen to positive language and the more you CONTINUOUSLY hear and see success/happiness/etc the more you BELIEVE it's doable. Yes of course there are some people who are just naturally happy all the time but it's rare nowadays. Constantly seeing and hearing it will change your daily thought patterns and ultimately make you take positive steps towards change.

 

"Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become habits. Watch your habits for they become your character. And watch your character for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become." - Margaret Thatcher

 

I hope this inspired you to do things a little different this year (2014)!

 

P.S.~ My final bonus recommendation would be to workout at Fitness Together! If you enjoyed this post, I'd be super honored if you would push some of those social media sharing buttons up top or forward it to your friends below... Thanks....and remember.... BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

 

Ray Cattaneo Owner - NASM,CPT,CES