Never miss twice is a paraphrased quote from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. It speaks to why our New Year resolutions often fail.
Imagine telling yourself on New Years’ Eve something like this,
I will ____________in the New Year (fill in the blank)
Does your resolution look like this?
Exercise
Eat Better
Drink More Water
Stop Smoking
You get the picture, pick your resolution, and plug it in.
Now let’s look at New Year’s Day.
Did you?
Sit on the couch watching football?
Hang out with friends eating chips and salsa?
Sleep in too late because of the party on New Year’s Eve?
Poof! Resolution gone
This is how resolutions come and go in a flash. You missed the first workout out, healthy meal, or whatever it was and then you missed the second… Poof, the resolution is gone.
Now what…
Set an intention
Set an intention and dial it back. Willpower won’t work.
Intentions provide you with the focus you need to progress toward what you want to achieve. How do you want to show up each morning when you rise? How do you see yourself?
Are you the hamster going around and around the wheel, or the cat relaxing and soaking up rays of sun in front of the window?
When you begin your day with intention and reflect on your intention during the day, you may find the effort is worthwhile and can take a little breather and relax.
Did you ever have a small stone with an intention written on it that you carried with you in your pocket? I think that was a “thing” probably in the 70s or 80s when we were all chanting OM.
Get yourself a stone?
OK, so maybe that’s not such a bad idea. Could you put a sticky note on your bathroom mirror, or carry a stone in your pocket that will remind you of your intention?
Shifting away from resolutions, which tend to increase anxiety and get you back into a hamster on-the-wheel mode, to focus on your intentions might just be what you need.
Clarify your intention
Take a moment to clarify your intention. It’s just not the resolution to eat healthier. It could be the intention to live a life that is healthy. It is a nuance, but once you have the intention and vision, or the what and why then you can work on the how.
✏️ What do I want to look like and feel like (ex: the intention: healthy, happy)?
✏️ Identify habits that will get you there. This is the how.
✏️Once you develop the habit – Don’t Miss Doing It Twice.
Are you on the right track?
Does the habit support your intention? Example: the idea of being more active, feeling better with fewer aches and pains, moving with ease? Does it support the intention of being healthy?
Start small, but keep the intention. How will you get active? See below for some previous posts on habit formation.
Even if it is past the New Year, it’s not too late to start.
Past blog posts with a focus on habits
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/why-doing-less-should-be-your-new-years-resolution
