The Pressure of Starting Afresh in a New Year

A New Year is here and as we recover from the pre-Christmas and Christmas festivities, we are bombarded with information on how we should be starting afresh to become a new and sparkly version of ourselves. Even before we have had an opportunity to digest the Christmas lunch, we are told we should be signing up to a gym, making lists of our goals for 2018 in stylish, indexed journals entitled "New Year, New You", stepping outside our comfort zones, applying for a new job and that's all to be done before January 1st!Change is good. Exercise is great for the mind, body & soul. Doing something different is motivating. However the reason so many of us do not keep those resolutions is because the pressure to change so many things in one go is too much. Charles Duhigg's book, The Power of Habit gives a fascinating insight into the way in which habits have developed and how they impact our lives both professionally and personally.

We all know someone who bites their nails, struggles with their weight, smokes, doesn't exercise and they genuinely find it difficult to change those habits. It takes time and determination to undo a habit.

Stephen Covey's famous book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" focuses on habits within business and how "repetition" of positive behaviour can lead to success. What both authors have in common is the understanding that habits, good ones, can lead to a much better life. The fundamental message, however, is that we replace bad habits with good ones, and that this takes time, determination and willpower.

Rather than pick several aspects that need changing, pick one and use the 21 day rule that it takes to break a habit. It will be less stressful and most definitely easier to achieve.

Susie Crolla CEO