1-5-2010

Tips for Keeping New Year’s Resolutions

January is the time for making New Year’s resolutions, but some people struggle to be successful with them.

Every January many people make New Year’s resolutions to improve their lives or stop bad habits.  Some people resolve to lose weight, quit smoking or spend more time with families.  Jill Koester (Cus’-ter), a mental health counselor at SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, explains the type of resolutions that are likely to be successful.

SOUND BITE: “Some types of resolutions that I think most people find beneficial are ones that they see as something they probably will be able to attain, something that they have been thinking about for some time and really have a vested interest in changing, ones that involve other people for accountability.”

To be successful with resolutions, it’s important to develop a plan for achieving the goals and to stay motivated.  Koester suggests setting specific goals that are realistic, achievable and measurable.

SOUND BITE:  “. . .  getting more fit, for example, is a tough one, but if the goal is to join a gym and to go twice a week.  Or if a goal such as o.k., there is something I wanted to recycle, for example, that person’s goal might be:  Sometime this year, I am going to try to set up recycling at my home.  I’m going to try to set it up at my office.  Things like that to have as a goal and to write down so you don’t forget after February what you have set out to do.”

Koester encourages people be make the kinds of resolutions that are meaningful to them, which will make them more successful.   Anyone who has difficulty in achieving their health improvement goals may want to consult their primary care physician or a counselor for help.

This is Ruth Slottag at SIU School of Medicine in Springfield.