POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: Are you keeping your New Year's resolution?

AT this time of year, many of us have made New Year resolutions.

Yet, many people know from previous experience that their well-intentioned resolutions often don’t make it past the end of January as they slip back into old habits.

Here are a few tips based on psychological research which may make it more likely that we actually stick to the new habits we want to develop.

Review your resolutions to make sure you are choosing ones which focus on behaviours you personally value rather than on things others expect of you.

So if you are resolving to lose some weight in the New Year, do this because you really want to, not because family members or society expects this of you.

Research shows that we are more likely to achieve change when we personally value and find meaning in the change.

Start small and be specific. If your goal is to increase your physical fitness, rather than stating this as a vague aspiration, it is more helpful for example to resolve to take 30 minutes of exercise three times a week.

As psychologists, we often prefer resolutions which can be reviewed regularly and changed rather than a single resolution for the year.

So perhaps you could decide to do 30 minutes of exercise three times a week for the month of January, then review at the end of the month and decide to continue or change this for February.

Try to make tasks easier by taking your personality into account where possible.

So if your goal is to increase exercise, figure out whether you feel more motivated when exercising on your own or with a friend.

We are far more likely to continue taking exercise that we enjoy, so there is little point in forcing yourself to go to the gym if you would really prefer to be walking briskly outdoors.

Many people find support helpful in keeping New Year resolutions. So it may be helpful to join a weight-loss group or simply to chat with others about the successes and struggles as they give up smoking.

However, some people feel a sense of pressure when others know they are changing a habit (in case it doesn’t work out), so if you are one of those people, it is better not to share your resolutions at the start and perhaps just keep a personal record of your progress.

As psychologists, we would suggest that learning and practising the skills and attitudes of mindfulness is in itself a very useful New Year resolution which will boost both emotional and physical wellbeing.

But becoming more mindful is also very useful in supporting us with other planned behavioural changes.

Take for example the common goal of losing some weight in the New Year.

We know that eating mindlessly contributes to much overeating and consumption of empty calories from junk foods.

So when we learn to eat mindfully, to bring our attention to what we are doing and the choices we are making, we become more likely to make better choices, to eat less and actually enjoy our food more.

Remember that perfection is unattainable so it is perfectly normal to slip after the first few weeks (or maybe days) of making any new resolution.

When we can view this kindly as a slip, (and not a catastrophe) we are more likely to continue with the new healthier habit and achieve our goals, than if we beat ourselves up and are self-critical.

In general, research shows that self-criticism is an enemy of willpower.

Two American psychologists studied groups of women who were invited to sample an array of sweets and chocolates.

One group was encouraged to feel guilty if they over-indulged, the other group was given the message to be kinder to themselves and to remember that everyone gives in to temptation sometimes.

The women who were kinder to themselves ate significantly less sweet stuff than the others who felt guilty.

Countless studies have shown that self-criticism is linked with much less motivation and poorer willpower.

In contrast, self-compassion, being understanding and supportive to yourself is linked with greater motivation and self-control.

Worth remembering next time you break the diet or skip going to the gym?

Real success is not the absence of failure but the ability to pick ourselves up (kindly) when we fall and keep going.

We wish you a happy, mindful and psychologically healthy New Year.

Imelda Ferguson and Julie O’Flaherty are chartered clinical psychologists, both based in private practice in Tullamore. Through Mind Your Self Midlands, they run courses on positive psychology and mindfulness throughout the year. They can be contacted through the Psychological Society of Ireland www.psihq.ie (Find A Psychologist section) or on their Facebook page, Mind Your Self Midlands.