5 ways to stick to your resolutions

5 ways to make your New Year’s resolutions stick this year

Psychologist - Dr. Erlanger Turner, tells Brut how:

Start small

I think the first tip is to start small. So meaning that you want to try not to do multiple things all at once. So, as a psychologist, I often work with my therapy clients on making sure that we set one to two small goals. And then once we can reach those goals, then we can modify and make some changes. So, when you're working on your New Year's resolutions, it's helpful to start off with maybe one to two goals that you want to obtain.

Set goals, not resolutions

I oftentimes talk about changing the idea of thinking about New Year's resolutions to actually thinking about setting goals. I think goal setting is more objective. I think when we set New Year's resolutions, oftentimes we think about it as something that we have to stick to throughout the entire year. And for many people, they oftentimes fail because they do face challenges, and nobody is going to be perfect. And so, it's important that if you start struggling with reaching your goals is that you can be able to backtrack, maybe reset and reestablish. What's the most important part about the goal that you ultimately set out to achieve?

Be specific

Oftentimes we think about these large goals, such as maybe losing weight. We may not set a timeframe in terms of when we want to maybe lose a certain number of pounds. And so we start working on those goals and then we don't see changes in our body, or the scale doesn't change. And then we stop working on those goals. So, the second thing that may be helpful is that you really want to be specific with your goals. So, if you're working to lose weight, which is a common goal for many people. Make sure that you set a timeline in terms of when would you like to reach that goal? And also, it's helpful to make small steps towards that goal. So maybe, let's say 10 pounds enough in a couple of months or so.

Remove negativity

We oftentimes have negative energy around us, so people that may not be supportive of us working on our goals. And sometimes we also have these negative perceptions and thoughts about ourselves. And so, it's important to keep a positive outlook about working on those goals. It's not going to be an easy journey. Obviously, when you change, when you're making these major lifestyle changes. But it's important to sort of keep a positive outlook and really look at the glass as half full as opposed to being half empty.

Celebrate yourself

It's important to reward yourself. And so when you're making progress on achieving your goals, it's OK to do something good for yourself. So that helps you to stay motivated and engaged in terms of working on those goals as well. And it's helpful that you also have people around you that are supportive and that can encourage you and celebrate you as well.

Brut.