Three weeks into the new year and many of the new leaves that were turned over have began to curl up at the sides, revealing more of the old underside enveloping good intentions. Some took off into the wind, blown away altogether in the gale force winds off two weeks ago.

As new years resolutions begin to unravel, the dog returns to the sick and the vicious circle slowly at first, rotates again. After the initial gratification which usually ends in a gorging off the things we hate most about ourselves but missed equally. Self contempt toe-flicks the many empty cans, cigarette boxes and sweet wrappers to the side, arriving like the proverbial “wet blanket kill-joy” at a party and waves guilt in your face like smelling salts  momentarily distracting you from your scramble to stop February’s direct debit to the gym.

There is nothing more insidious than a bad lifestyle choice or habit on its way to taking over you – there in the good times elbowing its way to the front and claiming credit for them or commiserating in the bad times which it never owns up to having any part in. Anybody who has ever attempted to cut down or cut out, make a tweak or a radical life change either voluntarily or under the sternest instruction will tell you how stubborn and obstinate they are to change.

If you have made a stance and put your foot down with yourself  this year only to find it was on a carpet tack, the smarting will probably be secondary to calling your own bluff and going back on the earnest announcements you made in the week running up to new years that now appear to have been no more than procrastination.

But you have done much better than you actually think, you passed the pre-contemplation stage, which is the long spelling for denial, you contemplated questioned things about your life, prepared then took action; any failing probably lays in the preparation stage not in you, at this stage you give yourself a better chance off successfully making a change if you look for and get help.

By going online you can be sign posted to the nearest support group to you for whatever change your trying to implement, you will get support and advice and be in contact with people who are shipmates in the same boat you find yourself and how to structure any new attempt ensuring a better chance off success. Your G.P’s surgery will also have a notice board that can steer you to many community initiatives offering help and support.

Many new years resolutions are made quite tongue and cheek a source off annual amusement these involve minor vulnerabilities that make up our character some of which actually endears us to other people. But its not always a long days journey from some off these quirks to a path off self destruction they are the ones your destined to run out off life before the end off the habit, these are the things that need addressing before the stroke off midnight this 31^st off December and need an immediate start made.

getting through the SHIL