What does the New Year symbolize to you? Maybe it’s a fresh start. Maybe it’s a chance to usher out the bad habits and make room for better ones. Or, does the New Year make you anxious? Does the pressure of New Year’s resolutions make you feel overwhelmed? Do you stress out about making plans, keeping up habits and staying on top of it all? Maybe you even get down on yourself because you feel like you’ll just fail miserably at keeping your resolutions again.
Does this all sound way too familiar?
Why do we fail at keeping New Year’s resolutions and why do we make ourselves sick with anxiety over it? Why does it seem so hard to stick to them?
Well, let me tell you something… this year’s going to be different. Why? Because this year you’re going to do two things. First, you’re going to set positive, sustainable goals. Second, you’re going to set yourself up for success and celebrate the wins, even if they’re tiny. And guess what? Even if you miss a step along the way, you won’t feel too bad about yourself! (Or bad at all!)
And here’s another thing–you shouldn’t feel guilty about falling short of your goals. After all, everyone has their own unique circumstances. Some of us may have health issues, some of us may have family obligations, some of us may be juggling work and school while others may be working full time jobs. There are always going to be reasons why we might not be able to stay on track to achieve our goals.
But that doesn’t mean we should stop trying. Even though we may not be able to reach our goals right away, we always have the power to change things around.
Without further ado, here are five tips to creating attainable and sustainable goals for the New Year:
1. Make positive resolutions.
Resolutions should be positive not negative. What does this mean exactly? This means not “giving up” on something. Instead, create a new healthy habit. For example, instead of saying you want to stop eating chocolate/carbs, make your goal to eat a healthier meal. Or, instead of a goal to lose weight, make a goal to be more active.
Pick healthy self-care activities to factor into your daily life. A few ideas might include meditating, socializing with friends/family, eating more fruits/vegetables, going to therapy, working out, engaging with nature, or reading material that is informative and positive.
1. Make positive resolutions.
Resolutions should be positive not negative. What does this mean exactly? This means not “giving up” on something. Instead, create a new healthy habit. For example, instead of saying you want to stop eating chocolate/carbs, make your goal to eat a healthier meal. Or, instead of a goal to lose weight, make a goal to be more active.
Pick healthy self-care activities to factor into your daily life. A few ideas might include meditating, socializing with friends/family, eating more fruits/vegetables, going to therapy, working out, engaging with nature, or reading material that is informative and positive.
2. Break your goals down into smaller steps.
If you’ve ever tried to diet, you know that it’s easier said than done. When you set big goals for yourself, it’s sometimes overwhelming and hard to keep the end results in mind. This year, make it easier for yourself by breaking your resolutions into smaller, more attainable steps and only changing one variable at a time.
For example, if you want to start going to the gym, aim to go twice a week for a month. Then the following month, make it your goal to go three times a week, and increase slowly. If that’s too much, take it down a notch and workout for 20 minutes twice a week for a month. Then increase your workouts to 30 minutes twice a week.
If you break your goals down into smaller ones, you’ll have a better chance of reaching them. When you reach these small goals, you can maintain a positive outlook and be able to motivate yourself to continue moving forward.
3. Prepare for success.
Or, in other words, make it hard for yourself to fail. If your resolution is to work out, pack your gym bag the night before, put it in your car and set an alarm to remind yourself when it’s time to go. If you find your motivation sluggish in the morning, make time in the afternoon to go. If at the end of the day you don’t feel like being active, instead put your sneakers at the foot of your bed, so you’re faced with a reminder to go to the gym in the morning.
4.Track your progress and celebrate your successes (no matter how small!)
One of the best ways to ensure that you’re staying on track is to monitor your progress and reward yourself when you achieve your goals. Yes, this is your sign to ready that Amazon wishlist.
Track yourself on a weekly or monthly basis. At the end of each week (or month) if you’ve reached your goal (for example, if you went to the gym twice a week, or ate healthy twice that week), then reward yourself with a small treat.
Need some reward examples? Get a manicure, treat yourself to brunch with friends, take a relaxing bath, or go to the beach. Whatever it is, pick something you enjoy. At the end of the month, if you’ve reached your goal three out of the four weeks, then reward yourself with a bigger reward. Some bigger reward examples might include getting a massage, buying yourself something that you’ve been eyeing for awhile, going out or ordering in your favorite dinner, etc.
5. Build your self esteem.
By tracking and rewarding your successes, you give yourself credit and validate your hard work. This will help motivate you to continue to strive towards your goals and increase your chances of maintaining your new healthy habits. And inevitably, this will maintain and sustain a happier and healthier you!
All of this helps build your self esteem because you now have a concrete history of seeing yourself achieve goals that you’ve set. Sounds pretty awesome right?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Ft. Lauderdale for Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions
This New Year, let’s kick anxiety’s @$$ and make attainable goals together. As a therapist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT,) I’ll help you focus on making new healthy habits that are positive, sustainable, and will ultimately lead to a healthier, happier life. We work together to change negative thoughts into positive self-talk, and build a toolbox of relaxation techniques that will help you get through the tough times. Sound like a good start to a new year? Then reach out! I can’t wait to meet you and hear about your fabulous goals!
You Know That Nagging, Voice of Self-Doubt in Your Head? Tell It to Shut Up.
With therapy for anxiety, self esteem, or migraines, I can help you build an arsenal of tools you can use to achieve the life you deserve. Believe me. You got this!
Therapy & Coaching at Essence of Healing Counseling Services
Roberta Alves is a Therapist and Development Coach at Essence of Healing Counseling, located in downtown Ft. Lauderdale, FL. She is also a Certified Anxiety Specialist who uses the solution focused and evidence based therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy. Research has shown that cognitive behavioral therapy is proven to be extremely effective in treating anxiety and improving self-esteem. Roberta provides counseling services to her clients who live in Ft. Lauderdale and the surrounding South Florida areas in her office in downtown. If you want to learn proven techniques to overcome stress, improve your self-esteem, and achieve your goals, call (954) 526-4006 to schedule an appointment today.
