5 Steps to accomplishing your New Year’s Resolution

by Pamela L. Tomaszycki, D.C.
(Clinton Township, MI )

Do you have a New Year’s Resolution? Do you say that you are going to change at least one thing in your life? “I am going to quit . . .” or “I am going to begin . . .”

Do you follow through with this to completion each year? If your answer is “Yes”, Congratulations! I hope that you take the time to congratulate yourself for this. This is certainly a success! If your answer is “No”, Why? Could the reasons be one of the following? First, you truly have not committed yourself to making it happen in your life? Second, you lack of the knowledge to make it happen? Third, you don’t have the people around you who can support you?

Have you ever heard the metaphor, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree? What does this mean? Look at your life and look at the people that you surround yourself with: your family, friends, etc. Do you do the same things that they do? Do you have the same things showing up in your life as they do in theirs? So perhaps, you can see that the apple (you) usually doesn’t fall to far from the tree (your parents, friends, family). A lot of how you learn as a child is through modeling and then what you learned continues with you throughout your life unless you choose to change.

Some may say it is not easy to change, so let’s consider it as replacing an old habit with a new habit (or programming). You have to be committed and really want to have that New Year’s Resolution come true in your life. You have to focus on what you want your outcome to be, instead of just focusing on the day to day challenges that may come as you pursue your goal. For instance, let’s say your goal is lose weight. And you have listed what you are going to have to do in order for you to loose the weight. Perhaps you will have to workout three to five times per week and you will have to eat healthier which means that you will have to create an eating plan each week in advance and so on. You then create a schedule to accommodate for these new actions (working out, creating a meal plan, prepping the food, etc). Then on each of the days that you state that you will do something, you do it! Remember to focus on what your end results are going to be. Some days you will have to focus on this more so than others, because you may not feel like doing it. Engage all of your senses on how it is going to be when you have lost the weight….when you have reached your goal! How does it look, smell, hear, taste, etc? Get Excited!

What if you set a goal or New Year’s Resolution in which you don’t have enough knowledge yourself to accomplish it. What can you do? Ask a friend or family member? But what if they are the tree or the apple in the metaphor that was stated above and they are doing the exact same thing that you are doing that you have set out to change. Perhaps they are not the best people to ask. I suggest that you surround yourself with people that are more knowledgeable than you on how to make it happen.

Also surround yourself with people who can support you in your commitment to bettering yourself. Have you ever heard of the buddy system? I think this is truly appropriate as you venture into unknown territory. Choose a buddy that is going to hold you accountable. Perhaps we can call this person(s) an accountability partner instead of a buddy. Someone who you can reach out and express your challenges, successes, and someone that you check in with to make sure you are doing what you say you are going to do. Have you ever gone to the gym to workout and set out to jog on the treadmill for 30 minutes but instead you stop at 25 minutes because you didn’t feel like completing the last few minutes or convince yourself that you will make up the remaining time throughout the rest of your workout. What could happen if you had an accountability partner there at that moment to encourage you to complete what you have set out to do? To help you refocus on your goal. You would probably stay there and complete it, wouldn’t you?

So, if your New Year’s Resolution this year is to lose weight or whatever it is, I urge you to truly commit to making it happen in your life this time.
1) Write down your goal on paper.
2) Make it visible throughout your day (tape it up on your walls or on the mirror where you get ready for your day, put it in your car where you can see it, keep it on a piece of paper in your pocket, whatever you choose).
3) Frequently analyze your progress by checking in with your accountability partner(s).
4) Celebrate your successes frequently. Daily would be best because every success needs to be celebrated even what you may view as a small accomplishment. Celebrate!
5) Have a Party once your goal is achieved!

Go on now and have fun!



Pamela L. Tomaszycki, D.C. is co-owner of The Health Energy Movement located in Clinton Township. Her mission is to educate the families of her community about health and to assist them in their journey to becoming healthier.