Monday, December 28, 2015
Here's to a Healthier 2016
3:57 PM | 
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
With three days remaining in 2015, this week is a great
time to reflect on your wellness goals for the upcoming year. Do you feel healthier today than you did in a
year ago? What did you learn about your own
health and wellness in 2015? In what areas do you feel the need for change?
Statistics indicate that nearly half of Americans
usually make New Year’s resolutions, with losing weight being the most
popular. Unfortunately, only 8% are successful
in achieving their resolution (Statistic Brain, 2015). This begs the question…why aren’t Americans
achieving their goals?
According to Psychology
Today online, the majority aren’t actually ready to change their habits –
particularly bad ones – and this lends to a high failure rate. Avya Sharma of the Canadian Obesity Network
says that people tend to set “unrealistic goals and expectations in their
resolutions” (Williams, 2014). Guilty as charged.
With the help of Psychology Today and Fitday.com, I’ve
compiled some tips to help you reach a healthier lifestyle in 2016.
1. Make
a plan.
Outline the changes you want to make,
and then create a plan to accomplish them.
Smaller steps are more feasible than tackling everything at once. For example, I plan to complete a Tough
Mudder event in June with my husband and some friends. To start challenging myself daily, I’m
planning to do 20 push-ups when I wake up and 20 before bed. Every day that I finish these, I’ll put a little “check”
in my planner. It’s a small, but doable
action that I’m hoping will make a difference (even a minor one is helpful at
this point!).
2. Be
mindful.
Mindfulness is a general awareness of
your physical, emotional and mental state on a consistent basis. Being mindful helps one live in the present,
rather than reflecting constantly over past events or worrying needlessly about
the future.
3. Celebrate
success.
As an example, don’t wait until you’ve
lost 20 pounds to acknowledge your progress.
4. Create
a focus.
This unique suggestion caught my
attention. Psychology Today suggests
creating an area of focus, rather than a time-bound, specific goal. According to Peter Bregman, writing in the
Harvard Business Review Blog Network, “An area of focus taps into your intrinsic motivation,
offers no stimulus or incentive to cheat or take unnecessary risks, leaves
every positive possibility and opportunity open, and encourages collaboration
while reducing corrosive competition.” In
lieu of setting a specific goal, an area of focus may allow you to hone in on
an area of your life and develop more creative ways of approaching issues.
5. Find your motivation.
For me, motivation stems
from my children. I want to keep myself healthy
and active as a role model for them, and to foster my own ability to keep up
with them! For you, it might be overcoming
a health issue, improving energy levels, boosting confidence, etc. Turn to your
source of motivation for inspiration throughout the year ahead.
Sara Police, PhD
References:
1. 10
Tips to Help You Achieve Your New Year’s Health Goals. Fitday.
Retrieved from: http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/10-tips-to-help-you-achieve-your-new-years-health-goals.html
2. New
Year’s Resolution Statistics. Statistic Brain Research Institute. Retrieved from: http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics
3. Williams,
R. Why People Can’t Keep Their New Year’s
Resolutions. Psychology Today, 2014. Retrieved
from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201412/why-people-cant-keep-their-new-years-resolutions
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1 comments:
Great information. I find I have to be reminded of what it takes to continue to be successful. I completed my bachelor's degree in Health & Wellness this month as well as published my first children's motivational book entitled, "I Can."
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