It’s that time of year again when we put up our new calendars, buy our weekly planners and feel that ‘fresh start’ feeling in the air. We often embark on the new year with hopes and wishes of losing weight, running a marathon, or finally saving for that epic trip. New year, new you, right? Many people start the year with all the good intentions of meeting their goals, only to admit that their resolution is a distant dream by March. This often results in an unhelpful discourse of self-criticism and not feeling ‘good enough’.

So, is there a way of setting new year’s resolutions without getting caught up in this unhealthy cycle of unrealistic expectations and self-criticism?

A Recent Success Story

Last year, I noticed I was feeling sluggish and more unfit than usual. I realised that since lockdown, I hadn’t been able to introduce regular cardio exercise into my routine and I was feeling the impact of it. I used to be an avid runner but had fallen out of love with it and had struggled to get back into the swing of things.

This offered me an opportunity to reflect: what was stopping me from integrating running back into my weekly routine? I identified three barriers: pressure to run ‘well’ and improve quickly, feeling that I needed to aim towards something, such as a half marathon event, and fatigue. To overcome these barriers I decided to approach running by:

• Not aiming towards anything or putting any expectations on myself
• Reconceptualising running as a wellbeing activity, the activity was to decompress after work and not to lose weight or reach a fitness target
• Lay my running gear out ready for when I returned home, to encourage me to get straight out after work before I felt the usual wave of fatigue

After identifying and overcoming my barriers, I’ve managed to (near enough) stick to 2 after work runs a week, and I’m definitely feeling the benefit of it!

The Four Laws of Behaviour Change

I must admit, I was surprised at how successful I’d been at sustaining two runs a week. When talking with my partner about it, he highlighted that my approach to running had met the four laws of behaviour change, detailed in the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, which may be the reason I successfully reached my goal and managed to establish a new habit (Clear, 2018).

Clear argues that the four laws of behaviour change are:          

• Make it OBVIOUS: I lay my running gear out ready for when I get home from work.
• Make it ATTRACTIVE: I reconceptualised running as a wellbeing activity which helped me to decompress.
• Make it EASY: I don’t place any expectations on myself.
• Make it SATISFYING: I ensure the running routes a picturesque and not too busy, to help me run mindfully.

Clear also argues that you can do the opposite for bad habits: Make them invisible, unattractive, difficult and unsatisfying (Clear, 2018).

Conclusion

When thinking about your new years resolutions, try to consider what is realistic and sustainable, considering your lifestyle, job, skill set, what you enjoy etc. and try to utilise the four laws of behaviour change to the small goal that you set. For example, if you want to exercise more but hate cardio – don’t do it! Why not try yoga or a stretch class instead? Your new year’s resolution does not have to be a mountain to climb. Often it is the smaller steps that we take that result in the most significant and meaningful change to our wellbeing. Hopefully this will help you succeed and avoid that unhelpful cycle of self-criticism when you don’t meet your goals.

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2024!

References

Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: tiny changes, remarkable results : an easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. New York, New York, Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House.