Happy New Year, Camosun students!
This is the time of year when many of us set goals and resolutions, or aim to implement new habits. However, if you’re anything like me, many of those big goals or habits fall to the wayside by February.
In this column, I’ll share some actionable tips to help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions. My disclaimer for those of you who are reading this is that some of these tips were gathered from the fantastic book Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s a great read, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about habits and sticking to them.
My first big tip is for those of us who set big goals. Everyone wants to achieve great things, and around this time of year, it’s not uncommon to try to overhaul all of our habits. If this sounds like you, I recommend narrowing it down to two or three habits that you think will have the greatest impact on your life—needle movers, if you will.
It’s much more sustainable to make a few small changes in your life rather than completely overhauling how you’ve been living for years. If you came up with a huge list of resolutions, consider deciding which ones you could really commit to sticking with over the long run.
The next tip is one of the laws from Atomic Habits: make it satisfying. You need something that makes the habit rewarding in order to stick to it. One of the most common resolutions is to start exercising or to work out more consistently. This is a great goal, but it isn’t innately rewarding. No dopamine hit is involved with waking up early and dragging yourself into the gym.
Try setting up a reward for yourself. After exercise, things like a tasty smoothie, protein bar, or coffee can make the whole process more enjoyable.
Another common resolution is to quit something: smoking, vaping, biting your nails, whatever your vice is, now is the perfect time to quit. A great way to do this is to make the habit unattractive.
Take a minute and write down all the reasons you want to quit and all the ways your life will be better without the vice. Having clear reasons makes it easier to avoid falling back into old habits.
Good luck with your resolutions!