These promises to ourselves are most often made with the best intentions however they don’t seem to always “stick”. Just a few days into the New Year, people often abandon that promise and revert back to their old ways. Why does this happen?
The problem is that a New Year’s Resolution often becomes a wish without a plan. “I want to lose weight” could very easily be rephrased to “I wish to lose weight”. Or “I want to win the lottery” becomes “I wish to win the lottery”. You can wish and wish all you like but unless you create a plan or some goals for yourself, nothing will happen!
To have success, you need to make a properly set “goal” for what you want to DO to keep that promise to yourself. Your goal needs to be specific, measurable, realistic and achievable.
Here are some tips to consider when setting goals for yourself:
• Start small. Don’t create a mountain of expectations for yourself!
• Identify one small goal to start.
• Create a plan of what it is you want to DO.
• The idea for a goal has to be your idea – don’t set a goal simply to please someone else because it’s more than likely you’ll abandon that goal.
• Is your idea achievable and realistic? If you can give yourself at least a 7 out of 10 chance of achieving your goal, then you are on the right path. Anything less, then you are setting yourself up for failure.
• Be specific about your plan. Clearly state what it is you want to do, how much, how often, when, where.
• Remember to re-evaluate your goal periodically. Is it working? How am I doing? If things are not going so well, then revise the goal to something more manageable.
This may take some practice setting goals for yourself however once you start to see success, this will give you confidence, momentum and enthusiasm to stick with it!
Christina Vesty is a Registered Nurse and the Chronic Disease Management Coordinator at the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network.
Happy New Year!
