New Year’s Resolutions
By Melissa J. Roth

New Year’s resolutions are a traditional event. More people initiate positive changes in their lives in early January than any other time of year. They vow that this will be the year they finally stop smoking, lose weight or get in shape. Some of us are fortunate enough to have our efforts last long enough to see significant changes. However, by Jan. 20th, eighty percent of those who made New Year’s resolutions have already failed. Either they did not stick or they never got off the ground. The reality of how difficult it is to keep those changes and to make lifestyle changes has set in.

It is sobering to think that the average diet lasts four days and ninety to ninety-five percent of those who lose weight on a diet will regain it in three to five years. Eighty percent of the forty million Americans who buy gym memberships stop going. And the vast majority of smokers will, once again, reinforce to themselves that they don’t have what it takes to quit..

The most common reasons for failed resolutions is that our goals were not realistic or achievable and slips and backslides are viewed as total failures. We get into an “all or nothing” mind set that does not conform to the way change really happens. Losing fifty pounds by April is simply not realistic. Smoking one or two cigarettes does not signal total failure and is not a valid excuse to resume smoking a pack and a half a day. Our lives become hectic and stressed and the day or two we miss at the gym turns into months or years. Slips are not relapses. They are simply an opportunity to do it differently the next time, to “nip it in the bud” and get back on track.

•DON'T BECOME ANOTHER STATISTIC.  It’s silly to fail just because you need help. You wouldn’t abandon your car just because you couldn’t get it to start. If going it alone is too difficult, seek help immediately rather than when you’ve dug yourself into a hole.

CALL (205) 933-5705 for a FREE assessment of how Alabama Hypnotherapy Center can help you be successful!

This year, change your mind and keep the change.

Melissa J. Roth, Cht.,PhD is president of Alabama Hypnotherapy Center at 2117 Sixteenth Ave. South. She is an internationally renowned author, speaker and therapist. For more information about hypnotherapy or a FREE CD on how hypnosis can help you reach your goals, call 933-5705 or go to www.tranceworkers.com.