The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

"I never do that!" Surprisingly that was the response most of the time when I asked if they had a New Year Resolution. One said, "Yes, I'm going to. One that has a low bar and easy to accomplish." Another said, "I used too.", or "No, I have a big enough goal that I'm already working on now!" Another wants to read more, realizing the library downtown as a lot of great books. A couple said, "Read the Bible in a year." One woman only has one thing on her mind. She's getting married this year, and that's enough to work on.

Like always, a large number of people want to get healthier. "I'm getting a late start already."

But then some say, "I have a bunch. I wrote out a whole list. I am reevaluating my life. I was doing good for a while. Right now, I'm swamped, so I've fallen short. I need to organize my life. I need to prepare for 2020 spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I need to take care of myself. "

"I don't have one. I'm going to keep on keeping on. Life's good!"

"Yes, since we don't have children the house anymore, we are trying to discover each other again!"

Some have huge goals to accomplish this year. They set up a plan, step by step. One set an ultimate goal for her to go on a 13-mile hike this summer.

Others have made more of a holistic approach to the subject of improving themselves in several places, believing it all works together.

New Year resolutions take work. They take planning. They take needed action steps. But mostly they need self-discipline.

Since most mentioned, they were setting new health resolutions. We'll take a quick look at the subject.

Self-discipline means "The ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it." Wow. That sentence means I have no self-discipline at all! Ok, maybe I have some, but we all know that we struggle our whole lives to overcome bad habits deeply ingrained.

I studied self-discipline because this year, I want to accomplish my New Year Resolutions. I found several tips to help. First, they recommended we know our weaknesses. I laughed out loud when I read that. I know my weakness. My weakness is chocolate. My weakness is laziness. My weakness is self-indulgent.

Second, know our shortcomings. Own them, don't blame our failures on others. Don't cover it up or make excuses.

I loved the third tip, "Remove temptations." Ok, really! I have a husband that doesn't need nor want to give up chocolate. The temptation will need to be overcome with it staring me in the face, yelling, eat me, eat me! Besides, out of sight, out of mind doesn't work with me anyway. For example, if you want to eat healthier, build a menu, and buy only what you need for that menu.

Of course, setting measurable, clear goals, it's easier to know where you are going. Know yourself and know what foods will trigger a disaster. They say to create a mantra, or a jingle to help you stay focused and successful.

I loved reading that self-discipline can be built! It's a learned behavior. Like every skill, it takes daily practice and repetition, repetition, repetition. If you watch any basketball practices, you'll see they use the same technique. Repeat, do it again, over and over. I can argue that some seem to have the ability to be more disciplined than others naturally. I'm not a driven person; I hang back, letting things develop and forgive myself easily. It becomes challenging to keep my willpower under control.

I've read enough self-help books to know you need to create new habits to replace the poor old habits. The process seems impossible, but if you break up the entire goal into little steps and then celebrate each step acquiring self-discipline and working to instill new habits can feel daunting at first, primarily if you focus on the entire task at hand. To avoid feeling intimidated, keep it simple. Break your goal into small, doable steps. Instead of trying to change everything at once, focus on doing one thing consistently, and master self-discipline with that goal in mind. For example, I have decided to join the Big Sandy Biggest Loser, and I know that getting into shape will take time starting by working out 10 or 15 minutes a day then moving it to 30 minutes.

I need to eat often and healthy, which has always worked. I have low blood sugar issues, so I loved reading "that feeling of being hangry -- that angry, annoyed, irritated sensation you get when you're hungry -- is real and can have a substantial impact on willpower." When you eat too little, your concentration and your brain don't function like it is supposed to. Your self-control becomes week.