Creating Resolutions

We already know that for most people, making resolutions just doesn’t work. While millions of people create resolutions for the new year for things like losing 20 pounds, drinking less, creating more, only around 10% of people actually stick with them for any length of time. In fact, most people tend to give up within the first 14 days. Most resolutions are too vague, with no real action plan to stay on track, but some are too complicated and strict to actually stick to for the long haul. Some people get frustrated when their goals aren’t easily met or weren’t met by their deadline, and may give up, assuming they failed. So, what does work?

Resolution Alternatives

While a small minority thrives on creating action plans and has the discipline to keep them going, most people would be better served by instead asking themselves what they actually want out of life and defining a direction, rather than a lofty goal that may be impossible to reach. If you identify the things you value most, you can move towards cultivating a life that includes more of those things. Sometimes during key points in our lives, we need to identify a new direction to take in order to be healthier, less stressed, and eliminate unhealthy habits. As long as we don’t stake our happiness to the success or failure of an outcome and realize the journey of life is just as important as any achievement, we can identify healthy directions we want to travel and use attention and awareness to keep us moving in the right direction. 

Map Your Desires Instead

But how do we get started? If resolutions don’t work, how do we set our intentions for the new year? As a special thank you to our alumni, Centered is offering our very own Desire Mapping Workshop for 2023. On January 16, from 1-2:30 at our beautiful new location on Houze Road, Centered clients past and present will be identifying and creating a truly meaningful map to help keep their attention where they want it to go, for health, career, personal relationships, and more. RSVP by January 13, 2023 to attend. For more info, email Korie.brown@centeredrecovery.com.