Goal setters in the north offer tips on how to keep New Year's resolutions
One northern Ontario business owner, Sylvie Lamothe is on what she calls a 'worcation' in Sayulita, Mexico. It was a goal she set a year ago.
"And when September hit and I was looking at December I was just like there’s a three week break where all the work I’m doing is on my computer so I could do it from anywhere," said Lamothe, who is the owner of Rebel Soul in Timmins.
Lamothe told CTV News she is a big believer in writing down what she wants to achieve, like working outside of Canada if she so desires and bringing people together to practice yoga.
“I did my yoga teacher training five years ago,” she said.
“Ever since then I’ve been writing ‘yoga retreat’ in my journal, not knowing when it would happen; how it would happen, and now May 2023, I’m now hosting that yoga retreat."
Jeff Baldock, a psychotherapist in northern Ontario, said something happens to our brains when we write down what we resolve to do.
“It raises dopamine and serotonin levels by simply saying this is the target that we’re going for; it’s also very helpful by the way, to take some time to visualize that,” said Baldock, who is the owner of Framework Counselling Services in Timmins.
According to Time2Play, an online gambling website that conducted a survey of 1,000 Canadians, found that 62% of the respondents felt it was beneficial to make a New Year's resolution, but most of them lost motivation to follow it.
Baldock told CTV News one easier way to honour a resolution is to outline a break down for yourself of how you want to go about achieving it.
“We can set a big long goal for ourselves and taking each step in such a way that it’s reasonable, it’s realistic," he said.
Baldock added you'll be able to enjoy life much more this way and others will notice that too.
Additionally, Lamothe said, if you get off track, try not to get disappointed.
“Look at all the days I did do it, today’s ok to take a day off,” he said. “You know give yourself that grace to show up as a human, you are a human being, you will have bad days.”
Baldock says a friend of his, who was an athlete and an excellent business woman, had said one time; “Give ourselves twenty-four hours to bleed.”
The survey by Time2Play, also revealed that people in Newfoundland and Labrador are the most committed at keeping their New Year's resolutions and claimed to do so for six months.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.