The day after Thanksgiving gets a lot attention for what has been termed “Black Friday” due to all the “deals” that are available.  Black Friday also has come to be known as the day that many folks begin to start planning what they want to improve on for the upcoming New Year, otherwise known as New Year resolutions.  Most of this is brought on by the incessant amount of eating that takes place on Thanksgiving.  For a bunch of people, self-improvement centers around weight because it is easy to identify and usually it is pretty clear on what needs to be managed.  Ah, herein lies the rub.  If it is easy or straight forward why is it so hard for people?  If weight loss is easy to identify as a resolution yet hard to center on, than how difficult will it be to stay focused and motivated to achieve those things that are not straightforward?

Some will tell you if you really want to do it you can, and if you don’t do it then you didn’t want it enough.  I agree with the first thought that if you want to do something, lose weight, get more education, get a better job or whatever dream and goal you have, you can do it.  However, I don’t agree with the thought that if you don’t do it, then you just didn’t want it bad enough.  If I can use a sports analogy, think about the ball player who wants to improve his or her batting, free throw percentage, etc.…  They work on it practice after practice but don’t get the results they want. Does that mean they did not want it?  Most of the athletes who are in this situation will improve in the area they are working on because they have a coach, whether it is the quarterback coach that helps the young star quarterback with his throwing motion or the swing coach who helps the 17-year-old Phenom perfect her short game. The coach is instrumental in helping them figure out how to get the desired results.