The New Year is coming... Are you ready for your resolution?

  • Published
  • By Jeffrey B. Paddock
  • Air Force Materiel Command Manpower, Personnel and Services
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Every December millions of people begin penning their New Year's resolutions, planning behavioral changes they want to make during the coming year.

Typically, resolutions include high-payback targets such as tobacco cessation and weight loss, as well as increased fitness activity, stress management and financial planning.

As the clock ticks away the final minutes of the old year, we believe we'll be able to tackle our goals effortlessly.

But after the rush of New Year's celebration fades and reality sets in, ambitions often seem insurmountable. Soon after, we rationalize that "it's just not a good time of year," due to the weather and numerous obligations. We justify, that when spring comes, "I'll really get into shape."

In freeing ourselves of the guilt, we can justify putting off habit change for another few months. However, when spring arrives, chances are we will have another temporary surge of motivation, only to abandon it within a few weeks.

Withing Air Force Materiel Command, to encourage the practice of setting goals to make and keep New Year's resolutions, as well as enhance the chances of success among the AFMC workforce, the AFMC Wellness and Safety Campaign Working Group has designated January as "Resolution Support Month" on the AFMC Integrated Wellness & Safety Calendar.

The focus of resolution support is on how to make and attain resolutions and goals using the four dimensions of wellness -- physical, social, emotional and spiritual -- as a framework.

Why do people abandon their resolutions? One reason is they become discouraged when results don't come quickly enough, or when they encounter obstacles they hadn't anticipated.

Behavioral change requires sustained effort and commitment, but this can be achieved only with good preparation and action planning.

In the words of psychologist Karl Weick, "We are more likely to act our way into a new way of thinking than to think our way into a new way of acting."