How to start the new year off on the right foot

Image of someone writing New Years Resolutions

Most people start the new year by making resolutions (new year, new me). Many resolutions fall into roughly one of three categories:

  1. health – like getting fit or losing weight

  1. financial – like managing spending or following a budget

  1. lifestyle – like trying to spend less time scrolling

The idea behind a resolution is to effect a positive change, and as mentioned above, usually includes a more active approach to health, improving finances, and finally lifestyle changes for either personal or professional development.

It’s almost a certainty that you’ve seen some of these:

  1. Get more exercise (walk more)

  1. Lose some weight (eat less sugar, avoid alcohol)

  1. Get yourself organized (declutter, use a diary or planner)

  1. Get a new hobby or learn a new skill

  1. Learn to save money or follow a budget

  1. Quit smoking

  1. Spend more time with family and friends

  1. Travel (outside of your postcode)

  1. Start AND finish reading a book

  1. Spend less time on social media or in front of a screen

When you make a resolution (or set yourself some sort of goal) you’re essentially making a promise to yourself, which helps you take ownership of your decision making and actions, whilst the associated deadlines may help you to stay on track.

Making your New Year’s resolutions happen

Despite their best efforts, many people struggle to stick to resolutions. In fact, stats show that more than half of us who set a goal for the new year will fail!

Since none of us want to start the new year off on a note of ‘failure’, below are some guidelines for following through on resolutions, now and in years to come.

1. Be Mentally Prepared

Just because you’ve decided something, does not mean your head is in the right place to action it. Mental preparedness is essential, and involves the following:

  1. taking stock of where you’ve come from (past goal achievement or failure, where can I achieve actual progress)

  1. remembering and celebrating last year’s accomplishments, however small.

  1. small steps towards future goals

2. Set goals that really motivate you

The most important thing to remember here, is that any set goals must be yours, and your alone. They must be the top priorities you want to achieve, and not because someone else wants you to do so.

3. Limit the number of resolutions you make

A reasonable number of resolutions will allow for a more manageable expectation of yourself, whereas going all out with too many could see you spreading yourself too thin – and could result in many of them not being attained.

You’ll have to find balance – only you know how much time you can honestly spend on each resolution, or how much brain-space, willpower or determination each will require, so if you don’t think you’ll have the capacity, it’s better to cull some of them. Rather tackle a few and do them well, than have too many, and don’t complete them at all.

4. Be specific about what you want to achieve

When you set yourself a SMART goal, it makes it so much easier to see progress along the way, and allow for thorough follow-through and adjustment where necessary.

SMART goals are:

  • Specific – e.g. ‘quit smoking’ is better than ‘improving health’

  • Measurable – e.g. ‘lose 1Kg per week’ is better than ‘lose weight’.

  • Attainable – e.g. ‘learning a new language this year’ is better than trying to learn 5.

  • Relevant – it must be YOUR priority and no one else’s.

  • Time-sensitive – whilst a time frame is a good idea, it still needs to be realistic, so be lenient, but have a broad deadline nonetheless.

5. Break larger goals up into smaller ones

Are some of your resolutions somewhat grandiose, perhaps? When we’re over-eager with our resolutions, even our best intentions could mean we’re biting off a bit more than we can chew.

If you have a big goal, just break it up into smaller chunks that are more easily attainable. You can set timelines for each of the smaller chunks, and each step accomplished should be a celebration in itself.

6. Write your goals down

This is probably the most important step in starting the process, and here are some pointers:

  1. They are easy to forget, so write them down.

  1. Writing helps you clarify exactly what it is that you want to achieve.

  1. Writing should stipulate both the intention, as well as the action required to attain it.

  1. Writing down goals can sometime highlight opportunities you may not previously have thought of.

  1. Documented goals help you overcome lapses. They’re a visual reminder of how you want to improve yourself, and are good for spurring you on in moments of weakness.

  1. Finally, written goals reminder of how far you have come. When you get to make a check mark next to a goal, you’ll experience a wonderful sense of achievement

7. Share your resolutions with others

It’s a really brave thing to do, but if you’re serious about achieving a goal this year, telling a friend or family member can help. It makes you more accountable, and oftentimes, their support can be ‘just the thing’ that get you over a hurdle or setback.

8. Use technology or apps to help if necessary

Use a calendar or diary, set phone reminders, use your browser’s alert software for timed tasks, send yourself reminder emails, or download a ‘To Do List’ app – there are many out there.

9. Review your resolutions on a regular basis

This almost sounds obvious, but, if you regularly review your goals and progress, it allows you to make adjustments along the way – and if this makes your goal more achievable, then that’s a huge bonus.

10. Don’t quit if you’ve fallen off the track

Sometimes, one step forward and two steps back is going to get you to the same place as your original intention. So don’t be too hard on yourself if you lose your way somewhat. Just clear your head, reset, and keep moving forward. Adjust the goal, if necessary, to make it more achievable, but don’t give up when you’ve had a setback. Remember, finishing later than your desired timeline is not a failure.

Finally

We hope this short guideline will help you follow through with your goal setting and resolutions this year, but don’t be afraid of failure. It’s better to start and not succeed, than not to start at all.

GOOD LUCK.

Imagery by: Freepik

If you’d like to find out more about One Central Health, give us a call today on (08) 9344 1318.

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