As we start a new year it is natural that we reflect on the past year and if we want to make changes in our lives. So the new year resolution is born with hope and the promise of great things to come.
A good place to start is to review last year. What are the 3 things that you are most proud of and what are the three things that you would most like to change. You could use your diary or family events to remember those moments.
Being aware of both of our successes and our failures helps to give balance and lets us see that we can change and change for the better.
If we take the three things that we’d like to change and ask ourselves what was it about them that we want to change and what behavior put us in that position. Perhaps we suffer from road rage and it’s because we are always leaving the house late and get stuck it traffic on the way to an appointment- can we change that and leave earlier, would music in the car help us to stay calm. It’s not just enough to say I will control my road rage.
Focus your resolutions on the behavior change not on the outcome. So I will leave 10 minutes early each morning not I will control my road rage.
Get a support system in place – perhaps friends and family can help you by talking it over, by celebrating your successes and helping you to get back on the horse when and if you relapse. Celebrating successes is important it helps you to reinforce the behavior that you want. On the flip side of the coin relapse is perfectly normal when trying to change your life and it’s important that you get going again on change.
While friends and family are usually enough to help us with the small changes sometimes the larger changes take professional help. Things like anger management or weight loss or smoking cessation often need the help of a GP or a specialist nurse of a counsellor to help us to success, and if you need help you should ask for it as it all increases your chances of success.
So if you want to make changes this year, have a plan, know where you are going to get support and make that change knowing that you have increased your chance of success through those simple steps.
