5 Tips To Help Resolutions Stick

It's that time of year again - the first of the year when everyone is setting high expectations for themselves: get out of debt and save money, lose weight, stop smoking. These are all worth while goals, but many times we set unrealistic standards for ourselves that are too hard to reach so we give up in the end. Only a very small percentage of people actually set their goals and achieve them........ BUT, since I always stay on the positive side I don't want to talk about the large percentage of people who quit. I want to help you be in that small percentage who succeed. Here are the top 5 tips I have found that will help you on your way to successfully achieving those resolutions that you set for yourself.

You Are More Beautiful Than You Think

How do you think you would look if you could see yourself through the eyes of another person? Do you think you would be more beautiful if you could see what other people saw? Dove thought so, and in 2013 they did an experiment to show women that they were more beautiful than they perceived themselves to be. "Women are their own worst beauty critics. In fact, only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful." This is a very eye-opening video that will completely change how you look at yourself.

Poor Body Image - From a Mannequin?

I apologize ahead of time if I offend anyone, as this is not my intention here. If you know me even in the slightest amount you know that I am very passionate about fitness, nutrition and health. I do believe that there is a healthy weight that each person should be at, and should work towards this goal. Being overweight causes a myriad of complications and compromises your health both physically and mentally. HOWEVER........ I am SO tired of the media making women (and men for that matter) feel bad about themselves, and putting unrealistic expectations on us.

Be Your Own Perfect

We all do it. Men. Women. Young and old. I certainly am guilty of it almost daily. We compare ourselves to other people. We wish we were different - better in some way. We - I am so guilty of this! - nit pick at our weak areas and obsess over how to make them perfect. Speaking personally here: I am full swing into my 40's, have stretched my abdomen out to max capacity twice for my children, and come from a line of stocky builds - I am never going to look like this amazing little picture here. But, how can we be satisfied with what we were given? Not just satisfied, but completely happy?

Comparing is Futile

We all do it, especially us ladies. We walk around looking at everyone around us and compare ourselves to them. "If I only had her flat tummy", "She has amazing legs! I wish I had legs like that", "Wow, it's a good thing my butt doesn't look like that!".................. Ya, I have been known to do it myself - from time to time. Here's the thing. Comparing is futile, because we are not the same person. I am not you and you are not me. Instead of focusing so much on what our bodies look like, we should focus more on what our bodies can do for us.

Howard Schatz did a very interesting Photo study, in where he took a handful of Olympic athletes and did a body comparison. Yes, this young lady pictured here is, in fact, an Olympic athlete. It is fascinating, and for me at least, helped me focus more on what I am capable of instead of zeroing in on the parts of my body I don't like.