A New Year, a New You!
Tips for a Successful (and Healthy) New Year’s Resolution
By Dr. Samuel Ascioti
For many of us, a new year offers a “second chance” with hindsight of what worked well, what didn’t work so well, and what should be done better as we progress into the new year. Maybe 2016 wasn’t the greatest year for you or your family; perhaps it was one of your best years ever! Regardless of how 2016 played out, 2017 presents itself as a clean slate.
Many individuals decide to pursue one singular goal: the mythic New Year’s Resolution. Resolutions are almost always intended to better one’s self in some way, such as through diet, exercise, organization, etc. There is no right or wrong resolution; rather, a resolution should depend on what the individual wants to achieve.
Often, making a New Year’s Resolution is easier than actually accomplishing it! According to Forbes, just around 8% of those who make a New Year’s Resolution actually end up achieving their goal (1). At first glance, this low percentage can be pretty discouraging, but fret not! A few simple tricks can help make that Resolution a bit easier to accomplish!
First, think of what you want your New Year’s Resolution to be, and identify why it is so important to you.
Maybe you want to…
- Try a new sport to add variety to your workouts
- Quit smoking to improve your overall health
- Start running for fun!
- Improve your diet with more fruits and vegetables
- Lose weight to set a healthy example for your children
- Spend less money on fast food to save a few extra dollars per year
(These are just a few simple ideas to kick start your own individual New Year’s Resolution.)
Now that you have your resolution in mind, write it down and share it with friends!!! A study conducted at Dominican University concluded that individuals who wrote down their goals and shared their goals with a friend were more likely to succeed than those who did not write them down and did not share. (2) Having a Resolution written down (and maybe even displayed in your home) is the best first step anyone can take when tackling a new goal.
After your goal is written down, set a plan for how you want to accomplish your resolution. A good resolution should be:
- SPECIFIC: Your resolution should have a clear outcome, such as “I want to lose 25 pounds” instead of “I want to lose some weight”, or “I want to run a 5k race in under 30 minutes” instead of “I want to start running”. (3)
- MEASURABLE: What data can you use to track the progress of your Resolution? For example, if you want to lose weight, your weight is a measure that can be tracked on a scale and recorded. For physical activity, your measurable data might include how long it takes to walk/run a mile or how much weight you can bench press or deadlift. WRITE THE DATA DOWN IN A LOGBOOK, JOURNAL, OR SPREADSHEET! (3)
- ATTAINABLE: Is your resolution realistic? What can you do to make a resolution more attainable? Sometimes, resolutions have lofty aspirations, but individuals who set their goal too high may get discouraged quickly and fall off the wagon. (3)
- RELEVANT: Is your resolution relevant to you? When your schedule gets busy, will you still have the motivation to pursue it? What are the consequences for not achieving it? (3)
- TIMELY: Your Resolution should always have check points built into it. If your goal is to lose weight, your Resolution may look like this: “I want to lose 2 pounds per month this year, and should be halfway to my goal of losing 25 pounds by June 15, 2017.” This goal has a set total for the end of the year as well as the halfway point, as well as expectations to lose 2 pounds per month, enabling the individual to have a monthly goal as well. (3)
Setting a New Year’s Resolution can be a fun exercise in discipline and motivation, and can have tremendous benefits for the individual who works to achieve her resolution.
Feel free to share your New Year’s Resolution with your Chiropractor! If your New Year’s Resolution is health or wellness related, your Chiropractor may be able to offer pertinent advice! If you need any help creating, planning, or sticking to your New Year’s Resolution, your Chiropractor should be more than happy to set you on the right path to achieving your goal!
References:
- Diamond, D. (2013, January 1). Just 8% of People Achieve Their New Year's Resolution. Here's How They Did It. Retrieved December 19, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2013/01/01/just-8-of-people-achieve-their-new-years-resolutions-heres-how-they-did-it/#21a7b4af304c
- Dominican University of California. Study Focuses on Strategies for Achieving Goals, Resolutions. Retrieved December 19, 2016, from http://www.dominican.edu/dominicannews/study-highlights-strategies-for-achieving-goals
- Johansson, A. (2016). 5 Ways to Stick With Your New Year’s Resolutions in 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2016, from http://www.lifehack.org/504080/5-ways-stick-with-your-new-years-resolutions-2017
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