New Year! Goal-Planning Dos and Don’ts

With the New Year right around the corner, many people are going to be thinking about what 2018 holds in store for them. Whether you are formally committing to a New Year’s Resolution, or informally thinking about how to better your life, these four tips will improve your chances of success:

  1. There is an old marketing axiom, “Keep it simple stupid,” that works well in this context. The easiest way to set an unrealistic goal is to make it something that is difficult to understand. Furthermore, the goal must be measurable. Saying “I’d like to eat less sugar” is better than “I’d like to eat healthier,” but worse than “I’d like to cut my daily intake of sugar by fifty percent.”
  2. Goal, not goals. Part of keeping things simple is to set ONE goal, rather than many. It is tempting to use the momentum of the season to accomplish many things, but this has some serious drawbacks. It is better to set one goal, accomplish it, and move onto the next, than feel overwhelmed on a daily basis by how much you have yet to accomplish.
  3. Share it with others. This is a tricky recommendation. On the one hand, sharing your goals with others will increase your chances of accomplishing it, because once we say we are going to do something, we often feel beholden to do it. However, if you do not achieve your goal, you may feel an additional sense of failure because others will know about it. Think carefully about whether this is a goal you want to share.
  4. Break it down. Many people will want to accomplish something impressive, especially if they are only focusing on one thing. For example, you may want to lose 50 pounds by the summer. This will be much easier to accomplish if you set check-marks along the way. Rather than aiming at losing 50 pounds, set your sights on losing 10 pounds by the end of January.

 

Whatever your ambitions for the new year, make sure you give yourself the best chance by following the tips above.

Recent Posts

Anxiety

Changing Themes: Neurobiology x Environment = ?

If you’ve suffered from OCD for a while, you probably know that themes change. Or maybe you’re new to your diagnosis and haven’t yet realized …

Read More →
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Introduction to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

We have all heard of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Most of us have at least a working knowledge of what people mean when they say …

Read More →
Psychedelic Psychotherapy

Mental Health And The Problem With Big Pharma

If you are reading this article, you are probably tired of the way this country has dealt with your mental health. Have you been shuffled …

Read More →

Ready to Get started?

Schedule your session today

Continue to Grow

Still Thinking About it?

Don’t worry about it! We understand. It can be a big decision to make. Join our newsletter and stay updated when we publish new self help articles on our blog, as well as when we are running promotions. 

Appointment Request


Psychiatrist Appointment Request Form

Appointment Request Form