Health and Wellness Blog

It's January 7th today, about a week since we made our new year's resolutions and many of us have already broken resolutions. But don't beat yourself up about it, it happens to the best of us.

According to a study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology only 8% of us will succeed in achieving our new year's resolutions. Kudos to you if you are part of the 8% who persevere and succeed. You have mastered the art of goal setting. But if you are part of the whopping 92% of people who fail dismally year after year, here are some helpful tips on how to make successful resolutions.

Analyze what went wrong. Did you make too many resolutions? Were they too lofty to be kept? It's not too late to make a few, realistic resolutions now… and no, you don't have to wait until next new year's eve to make them!!

One helpful way is to follow the S.M.A.R.T. goals principle. Your goals = resolutions should be:  

Specific… Be specific.  Don't just say "I want to lose weight"…rather "I will lose 5 pounds"

Measurable… Establish measurable criteria."I will reduce calorie intake daily by… I will work out three times a week etc.,"      

Attainable… make sure your goal is achievable and figure out how you are going about it

Realistic… your goal has to be relevant and meaningful to you to succeed

Timely… set a time limit within which you will achieve your goal  

Here is a video you can access online to help you set S.M.A.R.T. Goals. You will need a TPL library card to sign in. 

For other helpful ideas, check out TPL's books on goal setting and remember you can set goals any time… there is no need to wait for the New Year!