Change takes effort; increase your chances of success

Year after year people make New Year's resolutions, and often the same resolution is repeated because the goal is never met. By now, most individuals who made resolutions this year are on the fence about continuing on with the goal they have set. In fact, by the end of this month, nearly 65% will have given up, with nearly 90% giving up on their goals mid-February. It's easy to get discouraged if you aren't seeing the results you have hoped for. Either it was too ambitious of a goal, more time consuming than expected, or it is overall perceived as too difficult.

Setting a goal is the easy part; it is executing the steps to reach the goal that is difficult. Change takes time and commitment, not just compliance. Commitment requires consistent action, not occasional action. You must believe in it and do whatever it takes, not just want it because you should, or it is the right thing to do. Experts say that more often than not, failure to reach goals comes from poor planning and that most set the goal and take action but still leave a lot of gaps, reducing the chance for success.

If you find that you are on the verge of giving up on your goals, consider sticking with it, and follow these steps to increase your chance of success:

- Explore it - Identify where you are and where you want to be. What gaps or barriers have popped up that are preventing you from being successful?

- Share your goal - Who in your life circle needs to know about your goal? Think about where you spend your time, who you are with and who this might affect.

- Ask for support - At work, school, home and anywhere else, make sure the environment you are in and the people in it are able to support your efforts.

- Resources - What else do you need to support your efforts? More time, help with the kids, a support group, education, etc.

- Learn and adjust - Along the way you may find other roadblocks and challenges. Continue to identify them, and change things to meet your needs as you go.

No matter what, change is hard, but in order to make it stick, changes must happen in your daily environments in order to support the changes you will be making to your behaviors, thoughts and actions. With any change, you must be proactive and take responsibility for the changes you are wanting to make. When we feel that it is out of our control, feelings of hopelessness and frustration surface, and we give up.

Missy Corrigan is executive of community health for Sumter Family YMCA. She can be reached at mcorrigan@ymcasumter.org or (803) 773-1404.