With most of 2022 ahead of us, this is an opportunity to make some new resolutions to live in a better, healthier, happier way in certain ways. Each new year brings with it new opportunities and a clean slate. I enjoy this clip from the movie Forrest Gump. As the ball is dropping in New Year’s Eve a woman with Forrest and Lieutenant Dan says in a thick New York accent, “I love New Years. Everyone gets a chance to start over”. True. Everything is possible, and the control and power is ours to make great choices and accomplish our goals. According to a poll by Country Living magazine, here are the top 10 resolutions for 2022:
TOP 10 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2022
Lose weight
Eat healthier or change diet
Get fitter and take more exercise
Spend more time with family and friends
Be more aware and take care of mental health
Sort out finances and cut back spending
Travel more
Take up a new hobby, sport or other interest
Be more environmentally friendly
Look for a new job
Follow Country Living on Instagram.
(source: https://www.countryliving.com/uk/news/a38576418/new-years-resolutions-2022/).
So, what will your resolutions be? That is up to you. But here are some ideas for how you can accomplish whatever you wish:
Ideas to Accomplish Your Resolutions:
*Track it: write out a log day by day of your goals and their steps. Track each day what you did (or, depending on the goal, at least if you made any effort that day towards ____). You can use a sheet of paper on a clipboard, use the note taking app on your phone, a dry erase board, whatever. If you don’t track your progress towards your goals, you are far less likely to accomplish them.
*Tell someone: tell a trusted friend or family member what your goals are. See if they will agree to ask you about your efforts and progress periodically. And hold you accountable too. An “accountability partner” can be very helpful to motivate you and keep you on track.
*Visualize your goals and outcomes: close your eyes regularly and imagine the outcome you are striving for and desiring. The most you imagine this, the more motivating it will be to take the steps needed to make it happen. In addition, you can save related outcome images as the screensaver on your phone, computer, and/or tablet. Seeing these images regularly will also motivate and will help keep you on track.
*Break down the steps: break your goals down to milestones that can be accomplished along the way. This way achieving the overall goal won’t seem to overwhelming or daunting. Plus, this can allow for better planning and strategizing to maximize your efforts and outcomes. Hence the old saying, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Breaking down your goal into steps will result in a better, winning action plan. The good results will follow.
*Choose a goal that is moderately and reasonably difficult. A goal that is too easy doesn’t do much when you accomplish it. A goal that is too difficult wouldn’t be accomplished and would be frustrating and discouraging. Choose your goals wisely. Accomplishing the goal needs to matter, but it needs to be achievable as well. If not, you might not only get frustrated at not accomplishing your goal, you might even give up on the concept of goals altogether. Many people have.
*Improve your self-talk. Be careful how you talk to yourself about your goal. Stay positive. Encourage yourself. Most importantly, minimize self-criticism, discouragement, catastrophizing, and overall negativity. It is like the old saying goes: if you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. The attitude you have about and towards your goals matters a lot towards whether or not you actually accomplish it. So, be careful with your inner dialog.
*Celebrate: each time you have a good day working towards your goal, congratulate yourself and give yourself praise. And each time you accomplish a milestone, give yourself a little reward. Finally, when you accomplish your goal completely, give yourself a big reward. Rewards and celebrations and ritualistic and strongly reinforce your path towards goal accomplishment. Don’t hold back. Be generous with yourself.
Final Thoughts:
New Years Resolutions can be great opportunities to define, and then progress towards and accomplish significant goals and desires in life. Please take advantage of this time to define and progress towards your goal. Including, perhaps, a relationship goal of dating and finding a committed relationship? Maybe that would be a good one. Because “…neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.”—1 Corinthians 11:11.
Dr. G
P.S. If you have any questions, comments, or a future article request for me, feel free to contact me at drgilchrist@yahoo.com.
| 2022-01-09 | Randy Gilchrist | Health and fitness |
About the author
Hello, my name is Dr. Randy Gilchrist (aka "Dr. G"). I am a licensed clinical psychologist, a licensed marriage & family therapist, and a certified hypnotherapist in private practice in Roseville, CA (www.dr-rg.com), practicing since 1997. Also, I am happily married in the temple (Manti) since 1996 and have 4 sons. I am a volunteer writer and contributor to LDS Dimension. I use my training, education, and experience to share insights with LDS Dimension on all things of interest to the LDS dating community. Please read my articles and columns on this site to assist you in your online dating journey. Also, to be considered for an answer in a future Q and A column, please email me your dating/relationship oriented questions to drgilchrist@yahoo.com. Finally, I also offer a powerful, effective worldwide custom hypnosis recording service just for LDS Dimension members for weight loss, pornography, and many other issues of concern to those in the LDS dating community (please learn more now at www.dr-rg.com/lds; email me questions to drgilchrist@yahoo.com).