We’ve experienced these broken promise vicious cycles over enough years to realize we are more apt to fail than be successful.  Stop recruiting yourself into a militant boot camp of denial and exasperation and bake yourself some treats filled with kindness and inspiration.

Here are my top ten that I hope you will also follow:

1. Unfollow Debbie Downer.  Negative energy can be a drain on your morale. Delete it.  Find friends with an infectious zest for life.  If you can’t find one, be your own best friend! Focus on the positive. Use the five-to-one rule. For every negative statement you make, say five positive things. Keep track on a little index card.
2. Get more active.  Walk a few blocks, petting a few dogs along the way.  Do this while chanting “movement is my friend”.  It will motivate you to walk a few more blocks.  And pet a few more dogs.  Or do some type of exercise that you enjoy doing and is lasting.  If you have been a slug all of last year, start off with 5 minutes daily and increase each day.  Studies show that fitness reduces the risk of some cancers, increases longevity, helps achieve and maintain weight loss, enhances mood, lowers blood pressure, and even improves arthritis. Get fit and stay healthy should not equate to pounds lost or marathons run.  Just stay focused, and don’t stop.
3. Drink more water.  Forget those alarms reminding you to hydrate and don’t get hung up, for now, on how many cups a day to drink.  Just drink more.  Particularly as you become more physically active.
4. Eat more fruits and vegetables.  If you are craving a package of peanut M & Ms, eat a crisp juicy apple for mid-morning and afternoon snacks during the week and on the weekends, mix up a frozen banana, something green, and no fat milk in a blender and you are there, or any variation what is low in fat and low in sugar, but still tasty. You will avoid the fat and cholesterol while still slapping a smile on your face from the sweet deliciousness. Just make it easy to prepare.  I am available for consults on easy to make tasty recipes.
5. Treat yourself to some “me” time.  While slicing cucumbers for that salad you will be eating daily, save some for your eyes, get horizontal, and chill, for a few moments at the end of each day. Or do something else that makes you feel special, every day, not just on a weekend or on a special occasion.  It doesn’t have to be expensive to be satisfying. Just do it!
6. Read a book.  One with paper pages and a cover.  Escape from stress and technology while feeding your brain. I have never actually read a book for pleasure and expect to do so this weekend.
7. Get creative.  Learn something new. Completing a project with your own hands will guarantee satisfaction.  Go onto Youtube (it’s free) and find a new hobby.
8. Travel.  Your destination need not be hopping on a plane to some exotic warm destination.  Take a day trip to the country.  Frolic in a meadow.  Or take a bus into the city and visit a museum.   Change your scenery.  Experience something different.  Enjoy being away from home.
9. Get better sleep.  Rest is required for rejuvenation but it has many other benefits, too. Sleep has been implicated in maintaining a healthy weight, affecting depressive tendencies, memory, life span, inflammatory response, and creativity.  There are many great articles on-line with great techniques for getting better sleep.  Just find the best one that fits your needs.
10. Love yourself.  If you are not successful at achieving your goals, don’t berate yourself.  Eat that piece of chocolate whatever and move on.  And remember, you are not alone!