3 Steps to Take so Plastic Surgery Can Help You Stick With a Resolution

If you made a new year’s resolution—whether to improve your health, save money, or whatever—the odds seem to be against you. According to CBS News, most new year’s resolutions fail within the first four months of the year. By then end of January, one in 10 people have already given up and fallen back into old patterns. If you want to give yourself your best shot at keeping your own resolution, however, there is a solution—and it just might involve plastic surgery. Palm Desert and Palm Springs’ Cosmetic Surgery Institute explains how.

Crucial Learning’s Justin Hale explained that the bulk of resolutions fail because the person making them neglected to translate them from a goal into a habit.

Almost half of our daily activities can be chalked up to habits, so chances are good that developing and maintaining a resolution relies heavily on creating a new one.

Note the word “one” in that sentence above. An initial barrier to resolution success is overkill. Some people create a whole list of changes they’d like to make in the new year, and since establishing even just one new habit can be a challenge, the multitude of goals can be overwhelming.

So how does this all relate to plastic surgery?

The answer lies in three simple steps.

Step 1: Cue Up a Trigger

If you want to start a new regular behavior, you have to think about it more than just every once in a while. An ideal way to get into this groove is to pick a cue that will trigger your mind to turn toward your resolution.

Say you want to lose weight or eat better or exercise more or generally live a healthier life. Start by telling yourself that you will think about your resolution whenever you look in the mirror.

Here’s where the plastic surgery can really help.

When we see that we are making progress toward a goal, our brain can latch onto that positive feeling and help us to feel more inclined to continue making progress. For the resolution to lose weight, for example, spotting our slightly slimmer silhouette as we walk by the bathroom can be enough to let us know that we’re doing something right.

This works even if dieting isn’t the reason that we’re seeing new contours on our reflection.

Yes, using a plastic surgery procedure like liposuction or a tummy tuck or even a nonsurgical treatment like CoolSculpting® can help to reduce our belly. If we are also dieting, we can start to associate the sleeker profile from surgery with our efforts to crunch on more vegetables. Essentially, we are tricking our brain into thinking that our efforts are paying off extremely well, so we will find ourselves more willing to stick with them.

Step 2: Make Your Routine Very Small at First

There’s no need to get complicated or complex right out of the starting gate. Going too big can also be daunting, leading to a loss of motivation. Instead, build momentum by achieving little victories. Want to eat healthier? Cut out dessert once a week. Up it to three times after a month. Or substitute one typical dinner a week for some lighter fare. Then increase your substitutions.

The goal is to build on successes a little at a time until you’re really rolling.

Step 3: Reward Yourself for a Job Well Done

Seeing a sleeker you in the mirror may be reward enough for some people, but it doesn’t hurt to also give yourself a prize each time you achieve a particular goal. While there are seemingly endless possibilities, you could always stick with the cosmetic angle and buy yourself some BOTOX® injections or a dermal filler session. Not only could this serve as a reward, but it can deepen your positive feedback loop even more.

By following these three steps, you should be on a path to better maintain your new year’s resolutions—at least if they relate to your health and appearance.

Learn more about how plastic surgery can help you to make other improvements in life as you navigate the rest of the new year. Contact the Cosmetic Surgery Institute office online or call 760.837.0364.