Motivation in the early parts of January is usually pretty high, yet just a few weeks into the month, many of us are wondering if we can really accomplish these goals. The struggle to hold ourselves accountable and sustain our motivation is real despite our best intentions.
We are just a few weeks into January 2021 and I bet you have already made some pretty great resolutions for this year. But, have you thought about what great resolutions you can make for your mental health?
January is often a time of renewed energy, new goals, and resolutions. We make all these promises to ourselves and others when the first day of the new year rolls around. But by the end of January, a lot of us can already feel that disappointment start to creep in. Have you already broken your resolution? Has the excitement of the new year worn off? Whatever the reason(s) are to be feeling less than positive towards the end of January, there are some things you can do to prevent this feeling from happening.
Making decisions in a calm, thought out manner is a great way to avoid regret in the first place. But we are all human, and sometimes the decisions we make don’t turn out the way we wanted. Recognize the decision you made, why you regret it, and then tie as many positives to it as you can.
Ask yourself, what will I do next time? Sometimes just planning for a different outcome can help our regret. If we feel better prepared for similar future decisions, we don’t place so much weight on the decision we made that we regret.
If your regret has to do with a resolution you made for New Years, reach out to a friend or family member to help you stay accountable. If we know we have someone else to rely on, or someone who is also participating in the same goal, we are more likely to succeed.
Trying to set ourselves up for success is a good way to achieve our goals and experience less regret. Whatever goal, resolution, or decision we are making, be realistic and start small. Want to get in better shape and are vowing to work out everyday? Start with 2x a week, and increase from there. Want to have better communication with your partner or loved one? Start with something small to improve communication, like setting aside one hour a week to talk to each other about what’s going in your lives.
When we set ourselves up with high expectations, we often regret or feel disappointment if we don’t meet those expectations. But are those expectations attainable in the first place? Whatever is making you feel regret, try some of these suggestions and set yourself up for better outcomes. Check out this article over at The New York Times by Malia Wollen on How To Have Fewer Regrets.
How are those New Year’s resolutions coming along? We are well into January now, and we might be realizing that our resolution this year is not as easy as we thought it was going to be. January 1st is a date where people visualize change, and make goals for the days to come. Can we do that on any other date of the year? Of course! As a society we put a lot of emphasis on January 1st, so what are some tips that can help us stay on track as we navigate the new year with our new resolution? Brad Waters wrote an article for Psychology Today giving us some strategies to set us up for success in 2018! Take a look at his article to read what he means by advising the following strategies:
-Pull a weed by its root
-Prepare now, Commit when truly ready
-Visualize success AND failure
-The Snowball effect
-Is your resolution SMART?
-Reward success
Yesterday we wrote briefly about the definition of resolution and goals, and setting long term or short term ones. Today, we’re listening to Tim Ferriss who talks about why defining our fears might give us more success rather than setting up our goals. Interesting listen!
1. (of a person) focused on reaching a specific objective or accomplishing a given task; driven by purpose
2. (of a project or plan) designed to achieve desired results; targeted:
It’s that time of year again, where everyone is making resolutions and setting goal for the upcoming year. Some say that making goals that are too hard to achieve, or that are too high of expectations will lead to defeat. And for others making hard to reach goals gives them the right amount of motivation to get where they want to be.
Whether it is a long term goal, like repairing a wounded relationship, or a smaller goal, like trying to save $50 more a month, set your goals for 2018 so that you can achieve them to the best of your abilities!
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