1/24/24
What Recovery Can Teach Us About Stalled New Year’s Resolutions
Christine Robinson, Chief Operations Officer
It’s really cold. It’s so dark outside. The Browns lost the playoff game, …and you’ve already tanked your New Year’s Resolutions. Whatever, just like the Browns, there’s always next year.
We are so enthusiastic when that ball is dropping; when the promise of a new start is fresh. When Auld Lang Syne is playing, we have the best intentions and the best plans. So, what happens that we, all of a sudden, feel like we’re failing?
The tradition of creating New Year’s Resolutions can actually be counterproductive to our goals, depending on our mindset and how we go about it. We tend to make lofty goals that we think we can immediately achieve. There is nothing magical that happens between December 31st and today that makes achieving goals any easier. If we haven’t gotten to the gym in the last 6 months, what makes us think that we are going to be excited about it by Martin Luther King Day? Instead, we are probably sore and cranky because we pushed ourselves too hard and also added the resolution of a diet on top of exercise. We tend to take on too much and forget that life will throw up the same barriers that it has every time we’ve set this goal.
For those in recovery from substance use, this is really not new news. How many times did you convincingly (if only to yourself in the moment) state, “this is the last one”? Recovery stuck when you focused on today; one day at a time. Recovery stuck when you built your foundation step by step. Recovery stuck when you focused on progress not perfection. Recovery stuck when you surrounded yourself with people who had what you wanted.
The same is true with our resolutions. There is nothing wrong with resolving to be better. Putting an intent into the universe with passion is a beautiful thing. We can be successful when we are kind to ourselves, give ourselves direction and support, and take things one step at a time. Every day can be New Year’s Day. We’ll have to wait until the fall for the Browns, but we can always start fresh when we are working on ourselves.
Suggestions:
Review your resolution and reframe it if it is too lofty. Make sure it is achievable the way you are stating it.
Recommit to your goal.
Break your goal into achievable and reasonable steps.
Enlist help from your support system.
Identify barriers that have gotten in your way in the past and develop plans for overcoming them.
Be your own best cheerleader and celebrate your victories.
Finally, remember that you can keep going and that each day is a new start!