Episode 54: Why Your New Year’s Resolutions Will Fail (and How to Actually Succeed!)

Discussed in this episode: 

• Reasons why New Year’s resolutions fail; 
• Solutions to the roadblocks to your New Year’s resolution;
• The five stages of making a successful change:
• Stage 1: Precontemplation- When the reality of harmful behavior is present, but we don’t recognize it
• Stage 2: Contemplation - When we start thinking about what making a change would look like
• Stage 3: Preparation - Starting to prepare to make the specific change
• Stage 4: Action - Taking action to make the specific change
• Stage 5: Maintenance - Figuring out how to stick to the change in the long run
• Stage 6: Relapse - Part of the change process is to fail 
• “Perfection is only attainable through our acceptance of failure.” - Dr. Greg
• Roadblocks to change:
• Trying to change too many things at once;
• Starting with a habit that is too big;
• Focusing too much on the outcome instead of the process;
• Not looking at the big picture;
• Thinking small changes don’t matter
• Solutions to these roadblocks:
• Break down your resolution into multiple parts and realize how many things you are actually trying to change. Work on one thing at a time;
• Break down these parts into the sizes of the goals you are trying to achieve. Begin with an easy, achievable goal;
• Focus on behavior instead of outcome (example: going to the gym vs. losing a certain amount of weight);
• Structure your environment to nurture change;
• Realize that small, incremental changes will add up

Resources mentioned or relevant:

• How to Win At New Year’s Resolutions blog post
• Podcast episode on failure: Why Failure is a Good Thing
• Download The Integrated App for access to audio exercises, the Catholic Mindfulness Virtual Retreat, and more;
• Join The Integrated Life Membership which gives you access to every course Dr. Greg has created!
• Sign up for our weekly newsletter, Being Human, to keep up with all the exciting things happening at CatholicPsych.
• To find out how Dr. Greg’s team can help you, click here.
• To read the CatholicPsych blog, click here.
• For resources from the CatholicPsych Institute, click here. 

If there is a topic or a question you would like Dr. Greg to address, please email your request to beinghuman@catholicpsych.com! We would love to hear from you.

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