With nearly a week of 2017 under our belts, we hope you are having success with your resolutions this year. Statistically speaking, the first week of the new year is the hardest on New Year’s Resolutions.
In fact, per the website Statisticbrain.com, 25% of people who make a resolution, fail in the first week. After week 1 there is a steady decline in successful resolutions, and by June over 55% of people who make resolutions have failed to uphold them.
You see, making a New Year’s Resolution is the easy part. The difficulty lies in keeping and succeeding at your resolution. If you are having trouble keeping your resolution, don’t feel bad because you aren’t alone. Just keep reading our blog to find out what you can do to ensure you have resolution success all year long.
Pick One Resolution to Focus On
As caregivers, we know how easy it is to spread yourself thin and try to be a superhero. The problem with spreading yourself thin is that you’re only performing at a fraction of your best on each thing you do. The key is to pick one of your resolutions to focus on at a time. This will allow you to put all your effort to bettering yourself in that area. Once you have either successfully completed your resolution or have a good handle on it, then you can move on to the next one.
Break it Up
Many resolutions tend to be massive life changes. Instead of biting off too big of a chunk and getting overwhelmed, you should break your resolution into smaller pieces. For example, if your goal is to pay off debt, start with the card that has the least amount of debt then work your way to the bigger debts. Not only will this be more manageable, but the completion of each little goal is a tiny victory that motivates you to keep going.
Phone a Friend
Using the good ol’ buddy system is a great way to make sure you don’t fall off the wagon. Make sure you pick a friend that will keep you accountable rather than enable you to fail. In addition, you could invite your friend to make a similar resolution in their own life so that you can work together to reach your goals.
This is How You Remind Me
Many of us make resolutions because we are tired of things being the way they are. A good motivator to stay successful is to remind yourself of why you wanted to make the change in the first place. Many personal trainers do this to their clients by making clients workout with the extra weight they lost. For example, if a client loses 10lbs, the trainer makes them walk around with a 10lb weight to remind them of what it was like to be heavier.
Have a Plan for Setbacks and Temptation
Let’s face it, we aren’t perfect and there is bound to be some setbacks and temptations along the way. Just remember that these are normal and don’t let them get you down. Having a plan in place will help you keep moving forward despite a setback. This also ties into reminding yourself of why you wanted to change in the first place.
Make Time for Your Resolution
These changes aren’t going to happen overnight. Sometimes they take weeks, months or even years to successfully complete. The key is to stay consistent. In fact, science shows us that for a behavior to become a habit takes no less than 21 straight days.
Focus on the Journey
The old Proverb couldn’t ring more true: a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Celebrate the tiny victories by focusing on the journey rather than the destination. This often makes it easier to enjoy what you are working towards.
We hope these tips help you succeed in whatever resolution you made this year. As always, we are here to help.
Happy New Year from Wiser Home Care Services.