It’s January, so New Year’s Resolutions are top of mind. Prepare yourself for success this year.

Habits are the basis for any successful change. Whether you have made a resolution to STOP doing something or START doing something, habits are the things you do without necessarily thinking about it or planning.

For me, that’s brewing coffee each morning to drink while I drive in to work and cooking dinner each day when I arrive home from work.

One of my goals for the last few (or 15) years has been to lose weight. I’ve tried many “plans.” Why don’t they work? I’m not willing to change my habits.

I start off trying to radically change and follow “guidelines.” Then, the going gets tough and I fall back into old habits. Yep, the same old habits that got me where I am now.

What’s that Einstein quote? “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” What that means to me is that if I’m doing the same thing over and over (HABIT) and expecting something different to happen (RESULT), I am insane.

A sane person would understand that if he wants something different, he will have to do something (or several things) different(ly).

The easiest way to adopt new habits may be to swap bad ones for good ones. For example, people trying to quit smoking may begin to chew gum instead, when they get an urge.

Here are some other examples for someone trying to lose weight:

• Eating breakfast instead of skipping it
• Walking during lunch instead of going to a restaurant
• Planning the days meals and snacks while planning family dinners

Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

Over the next few posts, I will be sharing some great resources for creating new habits, overcoming obstacles, and actually reaching your goals.

Other posts about New Year’s Resolutions: 2014 Resolutions for Moms
13 Realistic New Year’s Resolutions for Working Moms in 2013 2013 In Review What habits do you plan to change for 2014?

Linked to:  The Thrifty Couple.

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