NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH: PRACTICAL TIPS FOR A HAPPIER HEALTHIER YOU
WHY ARE PEOPLE SETTING RESOLUTIONS
It seems like everyone makes new goals and resolutions around the New Year. The holiday provides a temporal landmark for everybody simultaneously, adding a sense of community. This pattern is known as “The Fresh-start effect,” it is a symbolic break that adds space from any shortcomings in the previous year, allowing room for growth in the upcoming year and fostering feelings of hope for a new beginning. While people tend to start new goals at a temporal landmark, it is okay to start whenever works best for you and your goals. Starting on January 13th is no different than beginning on January 1st. It is all about finding when will work best for you to achieve your goal.
CREATING THE BEST RESOLUTION FOR YOU
Create Meaningful Goals
It is important to create goals that are meaningful to you rather than adapting the goals of those around you. Emphasizing what you value in your goals will increase your internal motivation. Take time to reflect. What excites you? What seems stressful or overwhelming? Where in your life do you have room for improvement? By being mindful of what matters to you, you will set yourself up for success in maintaining your resolutions.
Readiness for Change
Another critical aspect to consider is how ready you are to make a change. Do you have the means necessary to accomplish your goal? Are you open to the growth that comes with new experiences? What keeps you motivated to stay consistent? How can you show yourself kindness and support when challenges arise? What steps can you take to feel fully prepared and excited for change? By reflecting on these things, you can better understand where your starting point will be and what needs to be accomplished to reach your end goal. You set yourself up for achieving your goals by being ready for the change.
Perspective
Now that you have your goal in mind, consider your perspective. Are you framing the goal in an avoidance manner? For example, are you trying to cut back on the time you spend on social media, are you trying to cut out sugar, or stop talking negatively towards yourself? Research shows you are more likely to achieve goals that are framed in an approach manner rather than avoidance. So, instead of saying, “I am going to spend less time on social media,” you could say, “I am going to read ten pages daily.” Or instead of saying, “I will stop talking negatively towards myself,” you could say, “I will talk to myself with compassion when I am being critical or face challenges.” This perspective comes from a place of adding something enriching into your life rather than taking out something negative.
Set Small, Short-term Goals First
When behavior changes occur, so do feelings of discomfort, which people tend to avoid, especially when they occur in large amounts. That is why large goals requiring significant change in a short amount of time are more challenging to maintain.
Shifting your big goals into multiple more attainable ones can increase the likelihood of reaching them. What is the most minor step you must take to attain your overall goal? Start here, then plan out the next until you build up to the end result. By doing this, you create built-in check-in points to celebrate what you’ve accomplished and reflect on what might need to be different, allowing you to shift as you need. Goal progress is also linked to improved affect over time, so by making these smaller goals, you can gain more sense of achievement, which will be a motivating factor in tackling your next goal. Always celebrate the small wins and notice the continual change.
Don’t Play the Comparison Game
Once you have decided on your goals and started working towards them, be mindful that you are not comparing yourself to others. It can be easy to play the comparison game, making it even more important to recognize that each person has struggles and circumstances that impact how they live. The same applies to you.
Self-Compassion
Prioritize progress instead of perfection. Everyone is bound to slip up or make a mistake at some point; it is part of being human. In these moments, recognize how far you have come, taking a moment to appreciate the work you have already done. Treat yourself with grace and compassion, reflect, and keep going. A bump in the road does not mean you lost all your progress so far. You can even plan for what you will do when you miss a day or don’t quite get to the point you want. Helpful ways to cope are to lean on others for support, treat yourself compassionately, and do an activity that brings you joy. It is important to honor your humanity; when starting something new or making a change, you are bound to make mistakes. It is how you learn what is important.
Reflection
As time passes and the resolution season is over, reflect on the goals you have made. Are you working on them as much as you’d like to? What are the challenges you are facing in meeting this goal? Are there any amendments you would like to make to your resolution? What is working and what isn’t working? If you decide that the resolution is not for you now, sometimes the goal is just not right for you, and that is okay!
REFERENCES
Anita Everett. (2023, December 27). New Year’s resolutions: Building Good Mental Health Habits. SAMHSA. https://www.samhsa.gov/blog/new-years-resolution-building-good-mental-health-habits
Berg, S. (2022, December 30). What doctors wish patients knew about effective New Year’s resolutions. American Medical Association. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-effective-new-years-resolutions
Blum, Dani. "Why February Is the Best Month for Resolutions." International New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024, p. NA. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A782595259/AONE?u=milwaukee&sid=googleScholar&xid=83c6910d. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
New Year’s resolutions: Why do we give up on them so quickly? Baylor College of Medicine. (2024, January 12). https://www.bcm.edu/news/new-years-resolutions-why-do-we-give-up-on-them-so-quickly
Oscarsson M, Carlbring P, Andersson G, Rozental A (2020) A large-scale experiment on New Year’s resolutions: Approach-oriented goals are more successful than avoidance-oriented goals. PLoS ONE 15(12): e0234097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234097
Robson, D. (2022b, February 25). Are New Year’s resolutions powerful or pointless? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220103-powerful-effective-new-years-resolutions
