We're three weeks into 2014. How are you doing with your New Year's Resolutions? Hopefully, you're still going strong and feeling good.
If you are, fantastic—keep up the good work!!
If you're not, don't give up! Just hang in there a little longer. You need time for your resolution to become a habit. (If you've been doing something consistently for 3 weeks, you're almost there.) Once it's a habit, it will be SIGNIFICANTLY easier to keep going. Once it's a habit, you won't have to think about it, remember it, make a choice to do it, use your willpower to do it. And, if you have a bad habit, you know how hard habits are to break.
Think about all the things you do in a day without really thinking about them. These are the routines that get you productively through life. When you wake up, you brush your teeth; you walk your dog; you stop at the same place every day for a cup of coffee. You call your mother on Sunday; pay bills on Monday; go to the dry cleaner on Tuesday. You do many of the same things daily, weekly, monthly, without hesitating. These things may not be entirely enjoyable, but they don't require motivation—they've become habits.
Research has shown that we have a limited supply of willpower. So, habits are good—they let us save our willpower. We might need it to stay focused on a big work project at the end of the day or to turn down a piece of cake after dinner.
Whatever you resolved to do, stick with it! It will get easier (I actually prefer to say you will get better). Pretty soon your positive change will be part of your regular routine, and you'll be able to use your willpower for something else :)
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