It's the start of a new year and if you are like most of the population you have had thoughts about what your 'New Year Resolution' will be. Unfortunately many of us never take it beyond the thought stage, and those that do take action often only achieve short term change.

At Chiropractic Balance we ask practice members what their goals are in regards to their health. Most of you tell us that not only do you want to be well now, but you also want to enjoy better health for as many years as possible. To all of those people, this article is specially for you!

It is common to be over enthusiastic about what you can achieve in a week or a month but underestimate what you can achieve in a year or more. One of my favorite nutritionists Cyndi O'Meara puts it simply,

'If you change 1% each week, then that's over 50% change in one year'.

It is also common to set goals that aren’t really meaningful or important to you. For example, if your resolution is to exercise everyday, what has been stopping you doing this previously? If you want to drink 8 glasses of water a day, why have you not been able to do this before? Old habits die hard, you need to have a big enough 'why' if you want to change the way you have always been or done things.

For example, I worked with a woman who told me she had tried everything but just couldn't give up smoking, then she got pregnant and she has never touched a cigarette since. The middle aged man who couldn't possibly do daily stretches, then spends 6 months recovering from a back injury and now never misses his daily yoga session.

Will you wait for a crisis to have a big enough 'why' to change? Or will you take the opportunity of a new year to think about what you would like your life to look like in one year then start making 1% change a week? If the latter rings true for you, read on.

Close your eyes, imagine it is New Year's Day 2019. You are reflecting on the past 12 months, what you have achieved, what has changed. You may think about one or more areas eg. health, relationships, finances, contribution, career. Once this picture is in your head then think about why you want to achieve or change these things (what is at stake if you don’t). Then the tough bit is over, you have a destination and now start working on the small achievable changes you can make each week and or month to start heading in that direction. The last important step to increase your chances of success is writing it all down and/or sharing your plan with others.

Our New Year mantra at Chiropractic Balance is:

'Big change can come from small adjustments'.

We can help at Chiropractic Balance by keeping you accountable for your monthly chiropractic tune-up and touching base with how the small life adjustments you have committed to are going. Don't worry it's not about being perfect it's about making an effort and aiming for improvement.

We are also giving you a template following this article for writing down your vision for 12 months time and the small adjustments you can easily start now to move in that direction.

Give your self a chance and choose to use these tools to create a vision for 2020. Don't rely on luck as the luckiest are generally the ones who were best prepared.

Look forward to helping you achieve your resolutions!

Here’s where your dream becomes a plan:

What does my life look like in January 2020?

You may like to think about one or more of the following:

Health, Family, Love & Relationships, Friends, Spiritual, Travel & Adventure, Finances, Career, Creativity, Community

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Why do you want this?

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Why don’t you have/do it already?

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What are three small things I can start now to begin working towards this vision?

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What further steps would be required each month to achieve this vision in 12 months?

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