Five Building Blocks to Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
Co-authored with Robin Stern, PhD and Nikki Elbertson, MEd
It’s about a month since we made our New Year’s resolutions. How are you doing? How’s the commitment to eating healthy, engaging in regular physical activity, or cultivating healthy relationships going?
If you’re having more trouble keeping your resolutions, you’re not alone. About 50% of us will not keep our resolutions. And there is extensive science to explain why.
With the COVID pandemic and its fallout as our backdrop for almost three full years, emotions are running high. From waves of stress wondering how to approach social situations to the unpredictability of the stock market, it’s been quite the emotional roller coaster.
When we experience strong emotions and actively manage them, they shift our attention and sap our mental resources, particularly when this happens over extended periods of time. Research tells us that when we spend our limited mental resources on managing a whirlwind of emotions, little remains for making decisions aligned with our goals and for the will power needed to keep the path toward our resolutions. We call this phenomenon resource depletion.
Put simply, our brains are exhausted; we are exhausted. But what if you really want to make positive changes in your life? The good news is it can be done — you can save a little mental energy for your resolutions. You can recharge your mental batteries. And you can keep yourself on track even when the road gets bumpy.
So, what can we do? Consider some of these research-based strategies:
- Set yourself up for good sleep. Sleep is necessary for our sanity, and strong emotions interfere with our sleep. It can be a vicious cycle. Go to bed early enough so that you’re at least getting 7 to 9 hours of rest, even if you don’t actually sleep the whole time. Take a bath or shower to relax and turn off electronics at least an hour before you hit the sack.
- Get moving. I’m sure we’re not the first to tell you that physical activity is good for your health. But did you know that by moving our bodies, we pump chemicals into our brains that make us feel content and relaxed and reduce feelings of depression and anxiety? Bonus: being active helps us sleep better. Not a fan of the gym? Try a dance or yoga class. Squeeze in an early morning or after dinner walk. Or just take the stairs when you can.
- Eat for physical and mental fuel. The food we eat nourishes our bodies and our minds. A variety of whole foods provides us with the variety of nutrients we need to keep us going physically, but also to prevent mood swings and lower our risk for depression and anxiety. As eating too much or too little can affect our moods, try to find a portion size that energizes you. Craving a splurge? Select treats that bring you joy and are worth it, so you can feel good instead of guilty when you choose to indulge.
- Make the hard thing easier. Too tired to cook after a long day? Prep your meals on the weekend and refrigerate or freeze meal-size portions that can be reheated on weekday evenings. Unmotivated to go to the gym or take a walk once you’ve resumed your favorite spot on the couch? Pack your gym clothes or sneakers and put them on as soon as you end your workday, so you don’t lose momentum. Or if you are a morning workout person, try sleeping in your workout gear.
- Focus on one goal at a time. Too many of us start a new year trying to overhaul our entire lives — new year = new eating habits, exercise routines, bedtime, hobbies. Not surprisingly, we are much more successful in changing our behavior when we tackle one thing at a time. Multiple goals? No problem. Just create a timeline so that you can start with one and then move onto others after you feel solid in your success.
What small commitments can you continue to make to promote your physical and emotional health and ensure your resolutions come true?
