6 Steps to Effective (and Lasting) New Years Resolutions

The new year is a natural time to think about personal goals and make changes to improve your health and quality of life. Committing to yourself can be very rewarding. The challenge with goal setting and change is that often people’s goals are (nobly) too far reaching, so they become discouraged or lose focus before they are able to achieve the desired outcome. Success comes from setting one small intention, taking one small action at a time, and making time and space to repeat that action. If you keep it small and manageable, bigger successes will come. 

You can tell yourself you want to be healthier, get more sleep, or be less stressed in the year ahead. But you need to define how you will get there and come up with manageable, bite-sized action steps that will lead you there over time. The process of change is not just about deciding on a destination. Having smaller mileposts along the way will help you reach that overall goal.

The 6 Steps

Here are some questions to consider so you can create manageable goals that will deliver success: 

1. Define Your Why

Why do you want this for yourself? What is important about working toward this goal right now?

2. Be Action-Oriented

What actions will you take to reach this goal? 

3. Time it Out

Put a timeframe around your actions. When will you start? How often will you do it? What days and what time of the day?

4. Define Milestones

What does success look like daily, weekly, monthly, ultimately? How will you track your progress? 

5. A Dose of Reality

How realistic is this goal right now, given your commitments? Do you need to try something smaller or can you handle the commitment you’ve defined for yourself?

6. Get Granular

How will you know you’ve achieved it? Be specific!

It’s important to know also that lasting change comes from repetition. The old adage, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” is completely true when it comes to change and building better habits. It takes 10,000 repetitions to master a new skill, 10,000 times to develop a new neural pathway in the brain until it is at our disposal and it has formed as a habit. That’s about 3 - 6 months. Forgetting is also a critical activity for the brain as it prioritizes a large volume of information it takes in every day and decides which is most useful. Therefore, you need to repeat new experiences to override the forgetting function in order to build new neural pathways to support new habits and behaviors. 

Simple Tips + Ideas For The New Year

Here are some simple ideas you might consider in the year ahead: 

• Cook at home versus eating out.

• Sit down for meals rather than taking them at your work desk, standing in the kitchen, or eating in front of the TV.

• Carry a water bottle, if it’s readily available, you’re more apt to drink it.

• Manage stress.

• Prioritize sleep. 

• Share your day.

• Listen fully.

• Laugh more.

• Express gratitude. For all that you’ve accomplished and all you will accomplish.

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Wherever your health journey brings you this year, my hope for you is it comes with growth and a sense of accomplishment. 

Sources:

Duke Integrative Medicine

IIN

Journal of Experimental Psychology

Culture Partners, 9-22-22, The Neuroscience of Goal Setting