Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to get back to routine and focus on some positive changes for the year.

As we all know, most resolutions last less than a month, so how can we make lasting change in our lives? I think most of us set ourselves up for failure before we even begin.

The key is to make sure the goals truly resonate and feel right for you. Many of us set goals for some external sense of acknowledgement, to impress, approval, appearance etc.

I challenge you to look within and go after what truly matters to you.

Warren Buffet says write down 20-25 goals, pick the 5 most important one and forget about the rest, cause they are distractions!

We want our goals to come from and internal locus of control and responsibility. Not an external desire of acceptance, approval or to impress.

I find the most important thing, is the “Why” behind the goal. When you have deep conviction to accomplish something, nothing will stand in the way. The goal has to be authentic to you, so dig deep.

You need to ask why...

Do I want to lose 20 pounds?

Do I want to save an extra $_____ each month?

Do I want to read 12 books this year?

Make sure these answers are about you!

Once you determine the most important goals you’d like to accomplish, break them down into chunks and habits.

As an athlete, I was always encouraged to set goals for the year by my coaches. Being a “Canadian National Wrestling Champion” was always one of my goals.

That said, if all I focused on for every match was that goal. Can you imagine how stressful and distracting that would be? You must stay present and set many little targets that get you to your goal.

I remember one match where I was up against a very difficult wrestler who beat me quite badly the year before. I was nervous but I had trained very hard that year and I knew I was better than the year before. I couldn’t worry about how good he was or what happened last year. I had to focus on what I did in training and how hard I prepared.

I couldn’t think about if I would win or not. I focused on my best moves and my plan. I went into the match confident and kept my focus on my plan and never worried about the result. I knew, if I stuck to my plan and did my best, good things would happen.

I won that match and went on to win my second national title that year.

Stay focused on your plan and your habits to get you to your goal.

Don’t worry about the results.

Be disciplined to your daily habits. I promise you, you can achieve greatness!

One habit I have committed to this year is “The 5 minute Journal.”

You can purchase it on Amazon and it’s a neat little book, that takes 5 minutes a day, to get you focus on the positivity and aspirations in your life.

Anyone willing to join me?

Research Shows Exercise Better than Antidepressants

Ratey, John. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. 2008 Little, Brown, and Company,

New York, New York, USA.

"A massive Dutch study of 19,288 twins and their families published in 2006 showed that exercisers are less anxious, less depressed, less neurotic, and also more socially outgoing.

A Finnish study of 3,403 people in 1999 showed that those who exercise at least two to three times a week experience significantly less depression, anger, stress, and 'cynical distrust' than those who exercise less or not at all."

"In a landmark study affectionately called SMILE (Standard Medical Intervention and Long-term Exercise), James Blumenthal and his colleagues pitted exercise against the SSRI sertraline (the antidepressant Zoloft) in a sixteen-week trial. The exercise group was assigned to supervised walking or jogging, at 70 to 85 percent of their aerobic capacity, for thirty minutes (not including a ten-minute warm-up and a five-minute cool-down) three times a week [only 3 times aweek!]"

"Blumenthal concluded that exercise was as effective as the antidepressant medication. This is the study I photocopy for patients who are skeptical of the idea that exercise changes their brain chemistry enough to help their depression, because it puts the issue in terms that are as black-and-white as psychiatry can hope to deliver, at least for now."

What You Need to Do:

Exercise! Walk, jog, bike, swim, play a sport, lift weights, do yoga, join a class. Do something, do anything, just NEVER, EVER, allow yourself to do nothing.

If you need information, inspiration, or guidance sign up for the Eat Well Move Well Think Well® On-Line Lifestyle Plan at the office.

Make 2020 the best year yet!!

Dr. DJ