Setting goals that rely on lifestyle changes can be intimidating for many. While you may have wonderful intentions, making a change is difficult, especially when New Years Resolutions have a reputation for failing. It is possible to increase your chances of sticking with resolutions, or lifestyle changes at any point during the year, even difficult ones, by first proving to yourself that you can make a successful resolution. By undertaking a task at which you can succeed, you are reinforcing capability and encouraging yourself to take on bigger challenges in the future. What do you want to do in 2012 and beyond?

Here are eight changes you can work on now that will have a long reach in to other aspects of your life. Take your self improvement anywhere you can!

Read

I had a supervisor years ago who set aside 30 minutes per day to read and was thus always informed about new research and theories in the field. Whether you choose 15, 30, or 60 minutes every day, the pages and hours will quickly add up. Read technical writings to increase knowledge, fiction for relaxation, or even blogs. Listening to audio books instead of the top 40 is another way to increase what you are reading and will drastically change your commute.
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Gestational diabetes and low socioeconomic status seem to be risks for the development of attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) according to research published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Reearchers Yoko Nomura, PhD, MPH, David J. Marks, Ph, Bella Grossman, MA, Michelle Yoon, BS, BA, Holly Loudon, MD, MPH, Joanne Stone, MD, and Jeffrey M. Halperin, PhD analyzed data from an ongoing cohort study according to Med Page Today. While the original study included 212 children, only 10 percent of the mothers reported experiencing gestational diabetes.

The children who had mothers who had experienced gestational diabetes during pregnancy were more likely to demonstrate inattention, while the children who also came from families of lower socioeconomic status, were more likely to demonstrate both inattention and hyperactivity. Children from families of a lower socioeconomic status who were not exposed to gestational diabetes showed twice the risk for developing ADHD. When the researchers analyzed differences between children who were exposed to gestational diabetes to children who were exposed to lower socioeconomic status to children who were exposed to both and to those who were exposed to neither, there was an obvious statistically significant likelihood that children exposed to both would develop ADHD; however, there seemed to be no increased risk for children exposed to only one of the two variables.

I would like to see similar research done with a larger sample size. Information about maternal history of gestational diabetes came from maternal reports approximately four years after gestation, which could limit the accuracy of the data. Future research should pull that information from medical records. This research looked at children between the ages of four and six. While six is often a key age for such diagnoses, a more longitudinal study may provide us more accurate results.

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A size six is now being considered plus sized for models. As shocking as that may be to most of us, it may be more shocking when you consider that Christie Brinkley, Paulina Proizkova, and Cindy Crawford all wore a size six at the height of their super model careers in the 1990s, according to PLUS Model magazine’s January edition. It horrifies me to think that my younger cousins might look at Cindy Crawford and think she is plus sized!

The article in PLUS Model magazine also reports that half of today’s women wear a size 14 and above, but most retail stores carry only sizes 14 and smaller. In addition, while in the 1990s, “the average fashion model weighed eight percent less than the average woman. Today she weights 23 percent less” and “most runway models meet the Body Mass Index physical criteria for anorexia,” according to PLUS Model magazine.

It is no surprise that Judy Scheel, Ph.D., executive director of Cedar Associates is concerned that society is encouraging young girls towards the development of eating disorders in response to this article, most commonly binge eating disorder or bulimia. As parents, we need to realize that no matter what we are modeling for our children, the media is also modeling an ideal body that is unattainable by the majority of the population and making it seem as appealing as possible.

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One of the most exciting parts of the adoption process is determining which child will be referred to you, well, besides when the new child gets to join your family and home. Jillian Michaels is in the midst of that moment, announcing that she has accepted a referral for a little girl in Haiti. I wonder if this is behind her seemingly sudden departure from the Doctors, although there has been no confirmation of that. From what I am reading she is still pursuing an adoption in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but she was concerned about the viability of the pilot program with the agency she has chosen.

While Jillian is not working with MLJ Adoptions, Inc. where I am Director of Adoption Preparation and Support Services, we have an active program in DRC and have worked in Haiti in the past.

Following acceptance of a referral, several things must occur with some variation based on the country program and the agency who is facilitating an adoption. Jillian has stated that her adoption in Haiti could take a year before her new daughter is able to join her home. Historically, Haiti has had a wide time variance in the time that it takes to complete an adoption. Until Hague becomes a reality for Haiti that variance is likely to continue. Jillian can count on specific steps that must occur prior to the finalization of her adoption, even if she does not know exactly how long they will take.

There is a legal process in country, an application to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for a visa for the child, and the passport must be obtained. Many times there is also an investigation to ensure the child is an orphan and additional exit approvals that must be obtained. Those few basic milestones are very detailed and can require several appointments, signatures, and months for each.
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It is more than just how you look that can impact how you feel about yourself, your self-esteem. It can also be how you think that can determine how you assess your self-worth. I don’t mean whether or not you are a brainiac, though. Our thoughts powerfully influence our emotions. In fact, how we assess any given situation determines how we feel and often how we behave. Because thoughts are so important and powerful, psychologists have classified errors in thinking that can cause difficulty or distress for individuals. One of these errors is “all or nothing thinking.”

One example of all or nothing thinking is believing that because you are overweight you are not a valuable or lovable person. Not only does this belief lead to sadness and emotional distress, but it ignores all the other attributes that a person possesses. Beauty is fleeting, and generally not as important as intelligence, kindness, ambition, or humor. What characteristics do you most value in a friend, romantic partner, or family member? Do you recognizable those traits in yourself? Do you find yourself focusing on the single part of yourself with which you are not happy?

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