With a new year come new responsibilities and those goals we all attempt to achieve. Drinking less alcohol, eating healthier food, getting a better job, losing weight, saving money, and traveling are all common resolutions.
However, New Year’s resolutions come at the beginning of the year and are usually abandoned soon after.
“People set unrealistic goals,” said Jeff Palitz, 39, marriage and family therapist from Eastlake Community Counseling. “Also, they don’t implement routines to maintain those goals.”
Drinking less alcohol, eating healthier and loosing weight all go hand in hand. The main key to being healthier overall is to make changes that can be kept long term.
“Start small, it’s OK to do your New Year’s goals in increments,” said Palitz. “Like losing weight for example; going to the gym five days a week is unrealistic, set a goal of one to two days a week.”
By starting off with a smaller goal, gradually the goal can be increased to ultimately reach the top resolution.
“Don’t set up yourself for failure with high expectations. Small achievable goals create routines, things that fit into your regular life, something that is repetitive might not be exciting but it accomplishes your goal,” he said.
The key to keeping those New Year resolutions is to set incremental and specific goals.
“It sets up people for failure when they are too broad,” Palitz said.
