Mindset is key to succeeding with resolutions

It’s that magical time of year — January, when motivation and resolve to change are at their annual peak. And after a year like last, 2021 eagerness will be at an all-time high. 

Except there is no magic. How many times have you found yourself quitting after only a few weeks of a new resolution? In fact, statistics show 92% of people who set resolutions and goals fail to reach them. 

Only 8% succeed!

The tradition of New Year’s resolutions has proven to be largely unsuccessful in terms of truly making a change. This is especially true in the fitness and nutrition industries that have yet to figure out how to help people move from stuck to sustainable. That’s because it is not a diet problem or super-secret workout system. It’s a lack of understanding how the brain works. 

We all know what to do…how come we just can’t stick to it?

The study of neurology of mindset and behavior change reveals two opposing forces. One side is this shiny new object, a new strategy and commitment that we think we can will-power into a new habit. 

The other side has an unconscious mindset with perspectives, belief systems and expectations that have evolved and become engrained. Most of us cannot implant a new habit or behavior on top of this hardwired unconscious neural platform. It’s like trying to run an Apple-based app on an Android. 

We have tens of thousands of thoughts per day, most at the unconscious level. The National Science Foundation estimates that 80 percent of them are negative and repetitive — filled with worry, anxiety, doubt and what-ifs. However when surveyed, most people characterize themselves as generally optimistic. This is a direct example of the internal struggle at play in our minds. 

We can force it temporarily: Vow to exercise more, stop smoking, follow a new diet, save more, etc.… but eventually our survival brain figures out the incongruence and falls back into the old neural pathways. 

The good news: mindset can be trained.

The first step in behavior change and mindset growth is accepting that your unique story and perspective are yours alone and that they may not be absolute truths. You then can begin to retrain and rewrite your internal dialogue. In essence create a new landscape with fertile ground ready to receive the new seeds of change. 

This allows you to be kinder to yourself and create a safer internal dialogue. By disarming the alarms of fear, anxiety, procrastination and overthinking, we release ourselves from crisis mode and allow time and space in our calm and creative zone. 

Simple, yes, but by no means easy. It takes work. And consistency. 

Let’s make this new year one of lasting resolution that will finally move you into the elusive 8 percent. 

Rod Stewart owns Club Performax in Suntree and has helped thousands with their mindset, fitness and nutrition goals. He works with corporations, physicians, law enforcement agencies, students and anyone looking to move from stuck to sustainable. Simply put, when people learn to change their mind, they change their life. 

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