New Year, New You!

by Clinicians at Ganey Counseling on 01/09/15

“New Year, New You!” Google it and you’ll find that the phrase is being borrowed by Dr. Oz, Pinterest, Amazon, health magazines, beauty salons and probably a hundred others. The fact that so many are choosing to use it as part of their marketing tells us that it must really connect to our hearts; something about it must lure us in. It sounds so refreshing, so promising, as if everything about us might have been renewed the moment the clock struck midnight and the New Year began. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way but it reveals how much we all are longing for a clean slate, a second chance, and some change in this new year. 

If there is going to be a new you this year it certainly isn’t going to be because of Dr. Oz, Amazon, Pinterest, or health magazines that remind you about the dusty treadmill sitting in the basement. There also isn’t going to be a new you because the clock struck midnight and you get to start a new calendar year that will probably be just as busy as 2014. There will be a new you this year if you choose for that to be the case and it you make small decisions each day to make that happen.

 

We are a week into the New Year and perhaps you’ve already given up on your goals.

Below are a few simple tips to try and help you stay the course.

 

1)    Start Small.

So many fail at their new year’s resolution because they pick too big a task or change. To think that you’re going to go from crashing on the couch at the end of a tiring day to running on a treadmill 5 nights a week is a bit extreme. Scale down your goal to something reasonable and then build yourself up.

 

2)   Tell A Friend.

Find someone who has a similar goal (or someone truly invested in your goal) and share the journey with them. When we tell others about our goals we are more likely to achieve them. We need both the encouragement and accountability that friends can provide.

 

3)   Plan.

There are 5 stages of change that can apply to each one of us. Typically when trying to make changes we often jump from stage 2) Contemplation to stage 4) Action. We think about what we want to do and then we expect to just do it, but in that process we are skipping over the most important stage, stage 3) Planning. Consider, what it is going to take to actually meet your goal. Can you do it alone? Do you need the help of a friend or counselor? What is going to get in the way and how can you persevere? What specific steps can you make to help you be more successful?

Remember, in order for there to be a new you in 2015

you don’t have to change a whole list of things,

you just have to be committed to changing one small thing.

Changing even just one small thing does in fact change YOU.

 

 

Happy New Year from GCC!

We wish you the best and we are here to help you achieve it

 

 

Submitted by: Sarah (White) Loew, MS