The key to keeping New Year’s resolutions is to make them small and specific, College Park experts say.
Big, broad resolutions such as exercising more, learning to cook or saving money are difficult to keep because they are vague, according to University of Maryland (UMD) assistant psychology professor Nathan Cheek.
“The sustainable way to pursue goals is to make a lot of small changes over time instead of making the big changes people want,” Cheek said.
Setting a specific goal such as going to the gym three days a week to lift weights for 30 minutes or attend a Zumba class is better than making a broad resolution like “be healthier,” Cheek said.
“Just sort of following a preset action plan that you’ve already made that’s really specific is easier,” Cheek said, noting it takes “the burden off of having to decide what you’re going to do in the moment.”
Melissa Minnifield, the fitness programs coordinator for Recreation & Wellness at UMD, said setting small goals makes tracking progress easier.
Monitoring progress toward weight loss, better fitness, quitting smoking or spending less, for example, can make those start-of-the-year resolutions seem more attainable.
Minnifield said those trying to be more active can track progress through apps that count steps or by keeping a journal that records moods and feelings.
Still, UMD business school assistant professor Joseph Reiff said when those small steps lead to something bigger, keeping a resolution can have a more lasting impact than dropping a few pounds.
But long-term goals like saving for retirement are harder to make because “you often kind of want to prioritize feeling good in the moment, and it’s hard to prioritize … benefits that you won’t really receive until the distant future,” Reiff said.
College Park Crunch Fitness director Artur Biyul said he favors having a bigger vision when setting a New Year’s resolution. Motivation and smaller goals are temporary, he said. He encourages the clients he trains to build habits and discipline around a goal that is bigger than spending a certain amount of time at the gym.
“It’s the mentality behind the goal,” Biyul said. “The vision has to be more than what it takes to get there.”
Minnifield said it is important to emphasize personal values and goals when making New Year’s resolutions rather than focusing on what others think or are doing.
“It takes a lot of self-reflection, taking time to yourself and being able to say, ‘Why, specifically, have I not been able to do this?” Minnifield said. “And then, ‘What specifically can I do myself to get closer to that goal?’”
Still, she said social support is a valuable tool for change. Group fitness classes, for example, can be a resource for meeting people looking to achieve similar goals, she said.
Cheek agreed that family and friends can help each other stay accountable for New Year’s resolutions. If people have someone to check in with about their progress or even set a similar goal, he said, they might feel more motivated to stay on track.
One thing the experts agreed on is the danger of an all-or-nothing mentality.
“The problem with that kind of all-or-nothing thinking is that it’s really easy to fail because if you just don’t do it one time, all of a sudden you’ve lost your goal,” Cheek said.
Cheek said most people feel the new year is the perfect time to start working on healthy habits because a fresh start as the calendar changes can be motivating.
But he noted that many overlook how existing habits or circumstances could hinder their new resolutions.
“You’re not actually a whole new you,” Cheek said. “People underestimate how the same obstacles they’ve faced in the past will continue to be obstacles in the future.”
Practicing self-compassion and understanding how to make new habits adaptable to a person’s current lifestyle can help create a strong new routine, he said.
On the other hand, OpenBarre owner and founder Lauren Filocco said she does not recommend that her clients make New Year’s resolutions.
“Our studio likes to focus on the positives that we’re getting from the exercise that we’re doing,” Filocco said. “It’s less about setting that annual goal of like … now I have to punish myself by doing something that I maybe don’t want to do.”
Filocco added, “For our studio, our goal is for people to not feel like they’re being pressured into doing something. It’s nice for people to have a place to go to where they know there is no pressure, there is no expectation of performance in any way.”