It's That Time Again
A new  year. Have you made any New Year's resolutions? Many people don't, admitting that  they never keep them so they no longer bother. Or we have the same list every year. We give good efforts for a few weeks, then our good intentions wane. Our resolutions collect dust until the calendar changes again then we drag out that same dog-eared list, hoping that this year will be different.

What do we need to do to actually succeed? Here's the real question that we need to ask ourselves.

What's Holding You Back?
There are powerful reasons, maybe not logical ones, but compelling reasons, why we end up abandoning our goals. Until we answer this key question, we're doomed to merely attempt yet not succeed at our goals.  We say we want to lose weight, make more money, clean out the garage, learn another language, or go to the gym more often.  Why aren't we?  There are obstacles in our way and we have to acknowledge them and deal with them as part of our strategy of success.

Let's take losing weight, because that's on so many people's lists.

Common Obstacles
Here are a few common reasons why losing weight is so hard.
No time to cook
No time to work out
Really like fat and sugar
Don't know how to eat right
Hate exercise
Love to eat
Fat gives emotional protection from the outside world
Being fat is easier

Some of these have simple logistical answers on the face of it. Take my personal favorite, no time to work out.  This is a legitimate reason in my life. I work a lot. I hate working out in the morning before work; 5:30 in the morning is way too early for my body to work out, and that's my writing time. The thought of schlepping myself to the gym after working 11 hours just didn't seem like something I wanted to do either.  But I also had to acknowledge that plenty of very busy people still find time to work out. Condoleesa Rice is on the treadmill at 5 AM.  Obama is getting his workouts in.

Real Obstacles
So clearly I can't use this as an excuse. What's the real obstacle? The real obstacle was I just didn't want to add another obligation to my already busy day. That was an interesting revelation.  But  knowing that was the real obstacle allowed me to deal with it. I had to give myself  reasons to make it a positive experience, and one that I could commit to reliably.

Here's what I've done for the past month. (I got a head start before the New Year. Why wait?) I work out four times a week. Twice on the weekend;  time is less of an issue then. Twice a week I go directly to the gym from work.  I realized I could not go home first. The temptation to hunker down would be too great.  Do not pass go, so to speak. I meet my husband and teenage daughter there. I'm fortunate that they also wanted to be working out more. Meeting them there gives me another reason to keep the commitment. No way am I going to be the one to bail out! I pick a treadmill right in front of the TV's so I can watch CNN. I love watching the news, so I can actually look forward to this. But  the best part is I take a sauna after I work out. This is my immediate reward.  All these things together are helping me deal with that true obstacle which basically was... I just didn't want to do it.

What's your real obstacle?
So ask yourself..whether you're beginning a new venture, wanting to learn something new, or taking care of yourself..what's your real obstacle?



(Have a New Year's resolution and some great strategies to succeed? Post a comment!)