A New Year Reset
New Year’s Resolutions can get a bad rap – known for lasting only a couple of weeks before they peter out. Research shows that starting a resolution on January 1st can cause resolutions to fail because people committed because they felt pressured by the date, rather than being ready to commit to a real change.
Setting new goals or beginning a reset can happen at any point. If the New Year or a significant day sounds like a good time to start working on some goals, then go for it! Just make sure you are committing to the goals because you are ready.
As we approach 2023, you might be feeling like you need some support to have a successful reset. In honor of the New Year, we’re going to talk about how to have a successful reset but remember that Whitmire and redpoint can support you through a successful reset at any point throughout the year!
Why Does Change Take Time?
It can be easy to get down on yourself, or even frustrated with others when change seems to take longer than it should. Why can’t we decide to change and then just do it? We make decisions all day long and act on them immediately, so why can’t behaviors and practices be the same?
It turns out that changing a behavior or habit has five stages to go through before the change is completely successful. Professionals have named this the “Transtheoretical Model” or the “Five Stages of Change.” In order to properly implement change, we need to go through these five stages:
Pre-contemplation: The stage in which there is “no intention to change behavior in the foreseeable future.”
Contemplation: The stage in which “people are aware that a problem exists and are seriously thinking about overcoming it but have not yet made a commitment to take action.”
Preparation: The stage that “combines intention and behavioral criteria…individuals are intending to take action in the next month and have unsuccessfully taken action in the past year.”
Action: The stage in which “individuals modify their behavior, experiences, or environment in order to overcome their problems…involves the most overt behavioral changes and requires considerable commitment of time and energy.”
Maintenance: The stage in which individuals maintain the new behavior and gain confidence the more they progress.
Taking these stages into consideration, it’s no wonder why a New Year’s resolution that was chosen a month in advance is practically destined to fail. This is why the individual needs to be the one to make the decision to take action.
A Successful Change
As outlined above, to successfully make a change (be it changing behavior or achieving a new goal) you need to be in the preparation phase – genuinely ready to take action. This applies whether you have specific goals in mind or if you need to formulate some to get out of a stagnant period. You may have some reflective thoughts like, “I’ve got to do something about this — this is serious”, “Something has to change”, or “What can I do?” (Loma Linda University). Once you’re in the preparation stage, there are a few steps that will set you up for success!
First, you should clearly outline your goal(s). For a simple example, let’s say Sally’s goal is to be more organized. That is a very broad goal, and there aren’t good ways to measure progress. However, if Sally clearly defines her goal as something like “I want to organize and maintain my bedroom” or “I want to organize my days and keep track of my responsibilities”, those are more specific goals that will be easier to make plans for and measure.
Next, it’s time to make an action plan. Your action plan will include steps and deadlines for achieving your goal. So, Sally’s action plan might include steps like “buy a planner next week” and “take 20 minutes to plan the week on Sunday night”.
Once your action plan is in place, it’s time for the action stage! You will put these steps into motion and progress in achieving your goal. Eventually, you will have achieved your goal, and then you will just have to work to maintain the change you implemented in your life.
The Importance of Support
While we have established that you need to decide if you want to implement a life change or goal, identifying helpful support can be a powerful tool. Whether your support is a family member, a friend, a therapist, or a redpoint coach, having someone to partner with you and hold you accountable can be great!
Support can come in at any time. If you need support when creating your action plan to brainstorm some actionable steps or clearly define your goal, that’s totally fine. If you only need support when you’re in the action stage, that’s great as well. The important thing is that you are set up to have success.
Don’t let New Year’s resolutions get you down – when you’re ready, a solid action plan and reliable support will award you a successful reset.