UTSA associate professor shares tips on sticking to New Year’s resolutions
(Jan. 6, 2016) -- It’s estimated that only about eight percent of the millions of Americans setting New Year’s resolutions this year will actually accomplish them. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things people can do to improve their chances of success.
Heather Trepal, associate professor in the UTSA Department of Counseling, is a licensed professional counselor and an expert in goal setting. She says that the biggest hurdle that people face when setting new personal goals – New Year’s resolutions, in particular – is not being specific enough in how they plan to accomplish them.
“When setting new goals for yourself, it’s important to be as specific and grounded as possible about what you want to achieve,” Trepal said. “You’re more likely to be successful if you know exactly what you’re working toward and identifying the proper steps to achieving it.”
The key to keeping up momentum while working toward new goals is to have an end-point in mind. For example, promising to go to the gym more isn’t useful because “more” can mean different things to different people. Instead, Trepal suggests that people resolve to go to the gym a specific number of times per week for a specific length of time.
“Instead of resolving to ‘lose weight’ this year, instead say ‘I want to lose 5 pounds,’” Trepal said.
The same strategy of specificity, she added, would work for people hoping to shed some weight, start a new career, read more books and so on. She says it’s important to develop markers of progress to work.
Tracking progress is another important part of the goal setting process. Trepal advises putting the goals they would like to accomplish down in writing and track their daily or weekly progress toward those goals in either hand-written or digital logs – marking off their successes and opportunities for improvement. The visual aspect that a log or written commitment can provide helps keep people from giving up easily, she said.
“Writing down what you want to achieve and marking your successes and failures can be a powerful tool for motivation,” Trepal said. “For one, it helps you know where you are on the road toward your goal, but it also provides accountability, the lack of which can often derail progress.”
Another option that people might consider is recruiting a partner or friends who can hold them to working toward their goals.
“Creating a community of people all working toward goals and helping each other can be a powerful motivator,” Trepal said. “It’s nice to know you’re not alone in striving for personal growth or change.”
However, the biggest factor in determining ultimate success in accomplishing personal goals and not giving up on New Year’s resolutions is simply accepting you will likely stumble during the process.
“Most people who start a new goal, particularly New Year’s resolutions, are going to stumble,” Trepal said. “That’s a given, and it’s okay.”
Punishing failures is the number one reason that most people give up on their resolutions early in the year, she said. A good way to keep from becoming discouraged and giving up after stumbling is for people to reward themselves for their successes and re-evaluate as necessary.
“I generally advise people to give themselves the flexibility to fail but not to give up at the first struggle,” Trepal said. “Change, especially personal change, can be a difficult process. Personal growth is a long journey that might not fit within the exact deadline or shape that you want.”
Trepal is the coordinator of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, the Graduate Advisor of Record for the UTSA Department of Counseling, and the president-elect of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. She has published more than 40 publications in the areas of relationships and relational development, self-injurious behavior, body image resilience, bilingual counselor supervision and training, gender issues in counseling, and counselor preparation and training.
By Jesus Chavez
Public Affairs Specialist
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