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Better Health in the New Year, Part 3: Putting Your Plan into Action

By Rachel Franklin, M.D., "Your Family Doc"

OU Physicians Family Medicine

Congratulations!  You have selected a resolution you can stick with, created a plan to succeed and are ready to implement your plan.  Preparing for a resolution may not be as exciting as just giving it a try, but by being prepared you have already significantly increased your chances of success.  Whether you want to eat better, improve your fitness or stop smoking, or you've got another resolution, it's now time to act!

Follow these steps now and as you continue your life-long journey to better health:

• Celebrate. Yes, celebrate before you have finished!  The day your resolution starts, and every day after that, focus your thoughts on how much your success will improve your life and health, and on how good it feels just getting on the right track.
• Maintain focus. Many of us want to expand beyond our initial plans as soon as we've started.  Resist the urge to do more all at once; it's easier to complete a simple task so you can move on to the next phase.
• Reflect. Once each week, take time to review your success thus far.  If you did well, celebrate and commit to continue.  If you stumbled, take time to identify what happened and how you can fix it next week.  Couldn't exercise because your schedule was crazy?  Think about whether you need to exercise at a different time or let other activities drop.  Did you learn that the resolution you selected isn't realistic at this time?  Consider whether to work harder to make it or go back to Part One and pick something else that is more do-able.
• Keep moving forward. Celebrate your successes.  Challenge yourself to succeed in the face of your struggles.  Continue to engage support from others.  And realize that every step in the right direction is a step that strengthens you and makes you healthier!

May this year be the year you reach your goals!  Starting with the next post, I will be writing about selected topics and will give you more specific advice about staying healthy.  Please remember to email april-sandefer@ouhsc.edu or contact OU Physicians at 405-271-5067 if you have ideas you'd like to read about in this column.  Here's to your good health!

Dr. Franklin is a board certified family medicine specialist. Her areas of special interest include preventive health and wellness and women's and children's health. Her advice has been featured in outlets including The Learning Channel, Parents Magazine and FitPregnancy. For an appointment with Dr. Franklin or any of the OU Physicians Family Medicine physicians, call 405-271-4311