A Different take on New Year’s Resolutions
“New Year, New Me”, right? We’ve all been there before, as the New Year begins, we make a New Year’s resolution that we are sure we’ll stick with this time around. However, whether that resolution is to lose weight, find love, stop an unhealthy habit, we’ve all set a New Year’s Resolution that, for whatever reason, we failed to accomplish. The Journal of Clinical Psychology states that only 8% of people are successful in achieving their New Year’s resolution.
Set Daily Goals
The problem in attaining our New Year’s resolution is we tend to focus on our end goals, instead of focusing on the process that will allow us to attain that goal. For example, I recently decided I needed to stand up more throughout the work day. After reading that most people sit more than they sleep, and I was one of those people, I recognized I needed to find a way to change my habits. This can be terrible for your health, so I came up with a plan. I decided I would stand up for two hours each day, one hour before and one hour after lunch. Making daily goals helped me get into a routine. I found that if I made a month or yearlong goal, I was quickly overwhelmed. If you were to tell me I needed to stand on my feet for 40 hours a month, I would probably to tell you to get lost. However, by standing up for two hours a day, I managed to stand 40 hours a month without even realizing I was doing it. The American Journal of Health Promotion found that the more specific you make your goals, the more likely you are to succeed.
Change in Mindset
A change in mindset can also help you focus on the process, instead of the goal. Tell yourself that you are going through a lifestyle change, not following a New Year’s Resolution. This is a marathon, not a sprint. If you expect to accomplish your goals immediately and give up when you don’t, you’ll probably be giving up a lot. Expect setbacks, give yourself some breathing room, but never give up.
Believe In Yourself!
Lastly, you will never reach a goal if you don’t truly believe you can do so. The power of belief is real. A recent study by Health psychologist Kelly McGonigal shows that stress itself is not bad for you. However, it’s the belief that stress is bad for which can bring down moral and hinder your performance. If you believe that stress is helpful, it will actually change your physiological response. The same idea applies to your New Year’s Resolution lifestyle change. If you believe you can do it, then you can.
At the end of the day, your success rate will depend solely on the time and effort you put in. More importantly, you need to know how to apply that time and effort. In the words of Albert Einstein, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. If your resolution is something you tried to achieve before, it’s time to take a different route to your goals.
Written by Nathan Brown, Enhancement Coordinator at DSD Business Systems
