HAPPY NEW YEAR!
As another year comes to an end, many reflect and look to the New Year as a fresh start – a reset and time to renew ourselves and life goals. Unfortunately, many fall short of achieving their resolutions. If you have a gym goal, the first week of January each year, you may notice the gym is packed with new gym-goers. One week later, the crowd becomes significantly less. One month later, only a few people remain.
It is estimated, approximately 44% of people in the US have been likely or very likely to create a New Year’s resolution for the upcoming year but only 9% feel they were successful in their resolutions. Do you have specific goals for the New Year? How do we turn our resolutions into life habits? How do you succeed and be in the 9% that achieves them?
Some of the most common resolution topics include physical health, weight loss, desire to change eating habits, personal growth, interpersonal relationships, mental health and sleep. One study followed the resolutions of 200 participants, revealing 77% of participants maintaining their resolutions one week into the new year. This drops significantly, with 43% after three months, 40% after six months and 19% at two years maintaining resolutions.
The most common reasons for failure were due to unrealistic goals, not tracking progress, having too many, or too general resolutions.
Greater success in resolutions was found to come from:
- Readiness to change
- Resolutions that are meaningful
- More consistent use of self-reward
- Approach-oriented goals vs. avoidance-oriented goals
You can set yourself up for success and achieve your New Year resolutions with various strategies:
- Set specific goals and a clear plan.
- Small goals cultivate big success: “I’m going to get in shape” vs. “I’m going to get in shape by walking 5,000 steps per day.”
- Focus on micro-goals, measure and monitor your progress rather than the end result.
- If you want to run a marathon, you work up to 26.2 miles through time.
- Reward yourself along the way
- Turn negative resolutions into positive ones through approach-oriented goals rather than avoidance-oriented goals.
- Focus on what you want and not what you don’t want. “I’m going to eat healthier” vs. “I won’t eat any sweets.”
Committing to real change can be difficult. Working towards a goal and celebrating the incremental progress is success in itself. Set yourself up for success by making your New Year’s resolution meaningful to you. Make this year your year and be the 9%.
May the New Year bring renewed hope and serve as a catalyst for positive change, new possibilities, more energetic life, happiness, and adventures.
HAVE AN AWESOME and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Dr. D