Rethinking New Year's Resolutions

Here are 5 strategies to make sustainable changes.

After a busy and perhaps indulgent holiday season, radical change might feel like the answer. Before you embark on a period of punishing deprivation or unsustainable practices that leave you feeling like a failure, consider the following 5 strategies to deploy now or any time you are ready to make a positive change:

1. Balance what's meaningful with what's manageable

Set a realistic goal that reflects your personal values. For instance, if health is a top priority, commit to walking 30 minutes a day four days a week. A resolution that is achievable and meaningful is more sustainable than one that is overly ambitious and doesn't resonate with you personally.

2. Add a positive twist

How many of our resolutions are about changing something we don't like about ourselves? Instead of focusing on fixing a flaw, choose a "positive" resolution that allows you to pursue an interest or encourages the use of your personal strengths. For instance, if you love art, resolve to go to the museum once a month or paint more. If you love fiction, join a book club. If you want to run more, join a jogging group. As the old saying goes, enthusiasm is the gatekeeper of endurance.

3. Get social

If you want to give a little boost to your life satisfaction a year from now, you may want to try socially-focused strategies over strategies that involve nonsocial pursuits, according to research published in Psychological Science. Wellbeing strategies that involved engagement with other people such as spending more time with family or helping others made people happier and are more fun than pursuing individually focused goals such as smoking cessation or weight loss.

4. Be accountable

It's one thing to initiate a change and quite another to sustain it. In addition to having a well-defined goal and a concrete plan of action, it is essential to hold oneself accountable. Have a weekly check-in with yourself or share your goals with a supportive friend and meet regularly to share progress reports. We tend to perform better when someone is watching over us and we're getting feedback.

5. Every day is an opportunity for a fresh start

Go easy on yourself if you're having trouble sticking to your resolution. Setbacks are a part of the process and New Year's Day isn't the only day to initiate a change. Every day is an opportunity for a fresh start. How about tomorrow?

The one and only Adele sings, "Go easy on me." May I suggest you channel Adele and go easy on yourself this January.