Love More. Live Better. A Southern Couple's Guide to Successful Living

This month, millions of people do what they said they weren’t going to do on January 1…fall off the wagon. Whether it be with diet, exercise or money etc., people all over the country start slipping on their goals this month. Why is that? Well, I have a couple of ideas about why people fail in February: Tax Refunds, Lack of Accountability, Exhaustion, No Firm Plan and No Cheerleaders.

Tax Refunds are terrible for the average American. At the end of the year, when the government finally decides to give the taxpayers back their money (unless you live in California this year, where the government is refusing to give back refunds since it spent all of its money), people all over the U.S. get so excited about how they are going to use the money. Most people start off with noble intentions: “I will use the money to start an emergency fund” or “I will use the money to pay off debt”, but by the time the refund shows up, the new intent is to “buy that 50″ flat panel LCD TV that I’ve always wanted”. Failure. This kind of thing makes me cringe. Tax refunds in the hands of most people end up being impulse spending and nothing more. Don’t lose your willpower. Without debt payments, you could have more money throughout the year and have your tax refund…the best of both worlds!

Lack of accountability is another good reason people fall of the wagon. This applies to money, diets, exercise and smoking to name a few. Most people are not capable of being accountable to themselves. Remember the first time you sneaked a cigarette or cupcake, the first time you decided to skip the gym or buy that new pair of shoes? Who was there to talk you out of it? Generally, no one. If you don’t have someone with whom you have to be accountable, someone to say “you don’t need those shoes” and “skipping the gym is like eating a brownie” then you are more susceptible to your own inner demons. You can’t say, “oh, what’s one cupcake?”. FYI, that one cupcake (1.5 oz) is 200 calories, which is a 30 minute walk on a treadmill…sounds tempting huh? If you’re single, find someone you trust to be your conscience. If you’re married, as a couple you should be on a plan and accountable to each other.

Falling off the wagon from exhaustion sneaks up on you. It’s when you have been so good staying focused on your goals that you wake up one day and say to yourself “I am worn out, I just don’t think I can do this anymore”. It’s when you say things like “I don’t care if I ever see another free weight…” and “So help me, I’d give anything to stop looking at spreadsheets…”. There is nothing I could say to counteract this problem. I can only tell you to take solace in the fact that we all have these moments and that you are not alone. You just have to tell yourself that you are not going to give in to your exhaustion and then make a list of what you have accomplished so far. It doesn’t matter how small you think the accomplishment is, it counts. You wouldn’t have accomplished anything if you had not tried.

Falling off the wagon from a lack of a plan and no cheerleaders is obvious. If you don’t figure out exactly how you are going to accomplish your goal and write it down then you will not stay focused. If you don’t have people around you cheering you on, hoping you succeed and helping you out then you will not stay on task. People need other people to affirm that they are doing a good job. They need people to review their plan and say its good. Enough said.

All in all, there are plenty of reasons we fall off the wagon. Staying focused and on task to achieve your goals keeps you on the wagon and is what it means to be an adult. Think about this…we can’t eat the way we did as children and stay thin….if it were that easy, we’d all be thin. When children get money they can spend it however they want and adults cannot. You can’t take your tax refund and blow it on a TV…you have responsibilities. You ARE an adult. You have to do things differently then when you were a child. You can’t expect to stay thin as an adult without getting exercise…you wouldn’t have stayed thin as a child if you didn’t play and ride bikes. Why do you think childhood obesity is on the news all the time these days…children don’t go outside and play anymore.

So, don’t fail in February. Save your refund, be accountable to someone, persevere through exhaustion, make a plan and find your cheerleaders! I believe everyone is capable of doing amazing things under the right circumstances. It is your job, however, to help create as many of those right circumstances as you can!