So, how are those New Year’s resolutions coming along?
Don’t feel bad if you are already struggling to stick to them. Many people start the year with the best intentions, but statistics show that more than half of goal-setters give up on their New Year’s resolutions within three months. A mere 6% make it past the one-year mark, according to a survey by Forbes Health.
One reason that some goal-setters do not make it very far is that the goals themselves may be too broad, vague, or unrealistic. A person who has spent years living a couch potato lifestyle might resolve to improve his fitness, but he is not likely to turn into a two-hour-workout-per-day kind of person once the clock strikes midnight on January 31.
Perhaps a better goal would be to plan to walk 10 minutes per day for a week, then 15 minutes per day the next week, gradually increasing your activity level.
“You have this big goal but you can take it in small chunks. Like babies learn to walk by taking a step at a time, it’s very important for this lifestyle that you just take it one step at a time and make it into a smaller goal,” explained Kimberly Graber, association director of personal training at the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, per NBC 5 DFW.
Family therapist Kathryn Smerling agrees.
“We may have grand ambitions for all that we want to accomplish in the new year, but if we start January trying to do too much at once, it’s easy to get in over our heads,” Smerling said, per U.S. News & World Report. “Don’t expect miracles. Big changes are made with small steps.”
Another thing to consider when making goals is to choose something that will help you in several areas of your life. For example, setting a goal to get at least eight hours of sleep per night will help you feel more rested, and thus more motivated to exercise the next day. It will help you function better at your job and could help you feel less stressed, improving relationships with friends and family.
Sometimes circumstances beyond our control interfere with keeping our resolutions, or we have a bad day, but that is no reason to give up altogether.
“Like a lot of people, if you have a bad week or a bad day, they think, well, I already failed at my resolution. So now I can’t keep doing it. … And it’s like, it’s ok to have one bad day. Just keep going. Don’t quit,” Graber admonished, per NBC 5.
“Change is a process, not an outcome,” explained Kristen M. Carpenter, chief psychologist at OSU Wexner Medical Center, per U.S. News. “As such, change requires upkeep. When you slip, rather than give up, it’s important to figure out what went wrong and get back on track.”
