Welcome to our Good Ones blog series, written by Wider Circle facilitators who bring together neighbors for better health every day. Through Good Ones, they share their favorite quick tips for living well right to you, wherever you may be. In this first installment, Fresno, CA-based facilitator Denise Raach Doyle shows us how to keep those New Year’s resolutions we made last month.
If you made New Year’s resolutions only to see them fail after a week or two, you are in the majority! According to the U.S. News & World Report, 80 percent of people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions, and most do so by mid-February. So it’s clear that there is nothing wrong with us; the problem is in the tradition itself. Most resolutions fail because people choose resolutions that are based on what they will not do. This year, instead of saying I won’t, say I will.
Pick one or two things you would like to change and ask yourself why. If you want to lose weight, why? Do you want to be healthier? More active? Live longer?
Select small steps towards your goal. Let’s use weight loss as an example:
1. Decide why you want to achieve this goal.
“I want to have more energy.”
2. Take it one small step at a time.
“I will walk 10-15 minutes today.”
3. Give yourself a reward for completing a small step.
“After I walk 10 minutes a day for 7 days, I will treat myself to my favorite coffee drink.”
4. If you do not walk one day, do not give up or feel like a failure.
“Tomorrow is a new day. I can always start over.”
5. After achieving this small goal, set another.
“This week, I will start walking 20-30 minutes a day. I got this!”
6. Have a buddy who has a goal. You can check in with each other every day. That will help you both stay on track.
→ Did You Know? It takes 30 days to make something a habit.
Enjoy what you WILL achieve, be good to yourself and celebrate every small victory! Happy, healthy 2021!
About the author: Denise Raach Doyle
Denise Raach Doyle joined Wider Circle as a group facilitator for the Fresno/Bakersfield chapter in 2018. In her role, she puts her passion for helping others to work by connecting members for better health and social connectedness through neighborhood-based and virtual programs. Denise is FEMA-CDP certified, a former Director of Education for the Institute of Technology and holds several advanced degrees. In her spare time, Denise enjoys her family, her dog Eva, traveling, and perfecting the best chocolate chip cookie!
