New Year, New Me?

It's that time of the year again, when many of us decide to make new year's resolutions after the over-indulgences of the festive season. While it's always a good idea to get healthier, eat better, and make positive changes, how many of these good intentions will go by the wayside in a few weeks (or days!), and how many are destined for success? Resolutions are notoriously hard to keep, so here are a few helpful suggestions for making them stick.

1. Less is More

Start by choosing one change to make. We are creatures of habit, and changing too many things at once can be hard to keep up beyond a few weeks, especially if they all require a lot of effort. Focus on this one change, using the tips below, and if this feels manageable, consider adding one or two more, if you feel you can genuinely achieve them too.

2. Be Specific

So many resolutions start with "I'm going to try to...", and they don't have any specifics. For example, if you resolve to eat more healthily, what does that mean to you? Are you going to cut back on certain foods like sugar, processed foods, etc., add in some nutrient-dense ones such as kale or seaweed, or introduce super foods like blueberries? Or, do you plan to eat in a healthier manner, such as taking a proper lunch break instead of eating at your desk or in your car on the go? The sooner you can visualise exactly what you're going to do, the easier it is to start, and to stick to.

3. Set Goals/Targets

What do you really want to achieve, and how are you going to measure success? If you've decided to run a marathon, do you know how you are going to go from no regular exercise now to completing a marathon in a few months time? While the marathon may be the ultimate goal, having smaller milestones and goals along the way can help you get there. For example, making a training plan for increasing mileage which aligns with running a 5k race by a specific date, followed by a 5 mile, a 10k, then a 10 mile race, etc. in the months leading up to a marathon could be a good way of measuring progress and staying on track. What gets measured is more likely to get done. 

4. Get Ready

How ready are you to make changes in your life? If you plan to cut out sugar, is your house still full of chocolates, sweets, biscuits and refined carbohydrates like white bread, white rice, and pasta? Have you stocked up on other foods you will eat instead of your sugar-filled favourites? Marking out recipes that look good to you, and buying foods that you will enjoy can make all the difference to your success. Knowing what other options you will eat at work or in your favourite restaurant can help prevent any slip-ups when you’re eating out too. As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. 

5. Identify Roadblocks to Success

Knowing in advance what could derail your efforts, and how to circumvent these obstacles, can help you to stick to your resolutions. If you plan to give up smoking, but your other half is still going to be smoking around you every day, are you going to be able to resist the temptation? Or, if you plan to start going to the gym 3 times a week, but work late some evenings, have evening classes other days, and still want to meet up with friends and family at the weekend, will you be able to change your schedule to find the time to go? Knowing the potential blockers in advance gives you time to find a way around them. 

6. Want it!

Have a good reason for choosing that specific resolution. If everyone else around you is planning to lose weight, for example, and you decide to follow suit, so that you can all do it together, you'll need to decide why you want to do this too. If you are already happy with your health and body size, then joining this group endeavour may not give you enough motivation to keep it up, and may not even be a healthy idea if you don't need to lose weight yourself. Choose something that is important to you, for your own reasons. 

7. Make it Enjoyable

Are you dreading the thoughts of starting and sticking to your new year's resolution? If so, this could signal doom before you even get going. For example, if you are cutting out sugar, instead of removing all your favourite sweet treats in one go, can you keep one, to have, say, twice or three times a week instead of every day, until you feel like you can cut this down too? Or, could you make some healthier treats if you enjoy baking? This could remove the sense of deprivation that sets in when we are forced to go without our favourite habits. Is there a trendy coffee shop that does healthy options, where you could have your next meet-up with friends, so that it becomes part of your social life too? Finding ways to enjoy your new habits can add more motivation, and make it feel more rewarding.

8. Write it Down

It's time to commit! Write down your resolution, and add the details of how you are going to achieve your goals, why you want to do this, and by when. This can be just for yourself, or you can go one step further and show it / send it to others. Every year, Mark Zuckerberg posts his new year's resolution to millions of people on Facebook - that's certainly one way of holding yourself accountable!

9. Be Kind to Yourself

If you fall off the wagon and succumb to temptation, start again tomorrow. One slip does not mean you have to scrap your resolution, or feel like a failure. Feeling guilty and beating yourself up is unproductive; instead focus on the reason you made this resolution in the first place, and how you will get back on track. Mistakes are par for the course in life, and as Albert Einstein put it, "a person who never made a mistake never tried anything new".