New Years Resolutions 106 – Self-Help Tools- Goodness Of Fit

If you look at the self-help product that are available, you will notice that they come in various formats.  When you have to choose between books, CDs, DVDs, Workbooks and so many more, one could easily experience choice paralysis.  All these products are advertised as the one that will help you, but you cannot realistically get all of them at the moment, so how do you choose?  Easy… Just ask yourself a few questions to help you narrow it down

1. Which of these media formats do I use most?

2. Which of these is more likely to keep my attention for more than a week.

3. Which of these media formats do I find most entertaining?

4. Which of the media formats have I found most helpful in the past?

The program contained within the particular media may be great.  It may even be the right type of program for you, but if it’s not the right format for you, then you are not likely to use it enough to discover the program it contains.  For example: I like reading books that I can get through in one day. That would be a book between 150 and 200 pages.  This is because when I first pick up the book my interest level is high and I will keep reading until morning as I get closer to the end.  So If I look at a book and it has 300 pages, I look for the audio because I know I will listen to it while I drive.  Having this information, I can make sure to get the right resources for me.  A great DVD would be pointless, because I would not sit to watch.  A book set that does not have audio would be just as bad because I would not read all the books with the consistency needed to get the benefits.

When selecting the media format for the self-help tools you will use, it is best to select media that you will use.  If you are the type of person who will watch DVDs more then reading, then DVDs may be better tools for you.  You have to make this assessment based on your habits and what you are more likely to enjoy and stay attentive to.

The program content are also very important.  The mistake many people make is to select programs and try to tailor their lives around the program.  This is actually the opposite of what needs to happen.  You actually need to find programs that you can fit into your life and will help you develop and integrate new behaviors over time.  Once the new positive behaviors become a part of your everyday routine then you are more likely to find other areas where you want change and proceed to implement these changes in the same way.

People who try to overhaul their lives to adapt to a program often find that they appear to be making progress for a short time, until the stress of a complete change becomes too much and they revert to their old behaviors.  Just like people who quit smoking cold turkey may pick-up a cigarette the next time they are in a stressful situation; and people who drastically lose weight tend to gain back the weight with a few additional pounds; people who make these extensive life changes often revert.  This without foundation there is not enough support for them to be able to address glitch.

I always say that I don’t have a sweet tooth, but I have 28 sweet teeth.  When I felt that I was eating too many cookies at one point, I had to put a system in place to change that.  Instead of cutting out cookies altogether, I added fruits to substitute for some of the cookies.  I built a foundation, which allowed me to make the change over time instead of changing my life to avoid cookies.  Let’s face it, even If I don’t buy sweets, I’m bound to come across them some times.  If I know how to handle it, then I stand a better chance.

Anther part of evaluating the program content is looking at the time commitment and making sure that it fits within what you are looking to invest in it.  A program that requires an hour of working about 5 days a week may not fit into the plans for a person who works full-time and has classes 4 nights per week but there are others that will.  When selecting a self-help program, it is important to make sure that what the program will require are things that you are willing to do.  Selecting a program where you will b picking and skipping through is very ineffective because the steps tend to be interrelated and build upon each other.

The time that you are prepared to invest makes a difference.  There are many programs that advertise results in 21 days, 1 month, 3 months 6 months and so on.  When selecting a program you also need to no which ones you are willing to work with.  If you know that your attention span can only handle a month, it may not be to your benefit to start a program that requires a 3-month commitment before you see progress, because you are at a greater risk of giving up before you reach the results.  There are however, programs where you see the results gradually.  The programs work well for many people because even when they have not reached the goal, they are seeing progress which  ill motivate you to continue working.

Whatever your New Years Resolution is… Receive my best wishes for success.

DrJudiC

Dream Big… Live Bigger…

www.DrJudiC.com