Experts weigh in on sticking to New Year’s resolutions

With a new calendar year now upon us, many people are already working towards their New Year’s resolutions.

“I think people want to move forward in life,” said Sudbury-area life coach Darlene Tindall.

“You know, at the end of the year they’re reflecting and looking at what worked and what didn’t work and they want to make changes, they want a better life, they want to enjoy themselves, they want better relationships, they want to move forward in their careers.”

However, even with good intensions, experts say it’s hard for many people to stick with their original goal for 365 days.

“I think that they don’t set realistic goals and they don’t have an actionable plan to execute them,” said Anna Rhymer the owner of Anna Bee Fit.

“So I think we need to take some massive actionable steps in order to keep them like daily affirmations, vision boards, doing something about it aside from just saying it.”

Tindall says that in order to be more successful, those eager to change should shift their attitude. She says people should focus on the positive reasons for doing something instead of judging themselves for why the resolution is needed.

“It’s coming from a different place,” she explains.

“It’s not coming from ‘I want to look better,’ it’s coming from ‘I want to feel better.’ And if you decide that you want to put your phone down and read more books or talk to your family members and really connect, it’s not coming from a place of ‘I don’t read enough books’ or ‘I’m on my phone too much,’ it’s not coming from a place of judgement.. It’s coming from a place of ‘I want to connect, I want to use my mind in a different way, I want to use my energy in a different way.’”

According to a survey by Ipsos, 48 per cent of Canadians think they will make a New Year’s resolution about their physical health.

This is something that Rhymer says she’s been seeing for years and even with the pandemic, she says the interest has stayed the same.

“Health and wellness is everything, absolutely. So I think that is something everybody wants to strive to be better at. So without that we have nothing,” said Rhymer.

As far as advice goes, Rhymer says it’s all about planning.

“Just make solid resolutions and figure out a strategic plan for the short, medium, and long term to make sure that you can go through with your resolutions.”

Experts agree that people put a lot of pressure on themselves during the beginning of the year when it comes to resolutions. Adding that being flexible in your goals and willing to reassess might make them more obtainable.

Tindall says just remember why you started.

“Get a picture of yourself that you really, really love, and maybe it’s a current picture or maybe it’s from childhood or when you were a young adult, and keep that handy and remind yourself that this is who you’re doing this for because you love you,” she says.

“You want you to have a great life.”