The beginning of every new year comes with resolutions and a promise to leave bad habits behind.
Often the quest to improve health behavior, such as losing weight, increasing physical activity or quitting smoking, is short-lived.
One study followed 200 people with New Year’s resolutions and reported that 81 percent of them failed to maintain their health behaviors within two years and that the reasons vary from person to person.
For example, in the case of cigarettes, people are dealing with a highly addictive product, namely nicotine. About 95 percent of people relapse after six to 12 months of abstinence when they try to quit smoking on their own.
Regardless of the severity of your addiction or even if you don’t have an addiction, change is very difficult. People often have not explored the reasons for making the change, nor how ready they are for it.
They may also not have a plan in place because they simply don’t realize how difficult it is to change behavior.
While it is normal to experience negative feelings after a failed attempt, if they last too long, these feelings can cause a person to lose hope in their ability to change.
However, after a relapse, you can learn from your mistakes and try again. Research shows that a person’s likelihood of success with positive behavior change gradually increases over time after failed attempts.
Some tips to understand why you’re making your New Year’s resolutions include:
- Know the reason for your change. It could be the desire to improve your skin care routine or to improve your health and set a better example for your family and everyone who looks up to you.
- Set both short- and long-term goals when implementing changes. Researchers have found that these goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely, or SMART. Weekly SMART goals help achieve long-term goals.
- Track and monitor your behavior as this promotes positive behavior change. You can do this by keeping a journal and taking notes. Many people also recommend fitness apps.
- Get help. In some cases, behavior change may be most successful with the help of a professional, such as a licensed clinical health psychologist. Trained professionals can provide services such as motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy.
