A Therapist’s Guide to New Years Resolutions Tips for Optimal Mental Health

Making resolutions at the end of the year has become a societal expectation, and one that often leads to disappointment when those expectations aren’t realistic. Stating a goal to ourselves and others should be empowering, but if the change we want to make seems too complicated, we can end up feeling defeated.

The new year means a fresh start, and clients often seek to improve their health by eating better and working out more, so they sign up at a gym. After a few workouts, they stop going and then feel bad because they made a resolution but did not stick to it. Enter the spiral of defeat. Let us help you define healthier ways to pursue New Years’ Resolutions for your mental health.

New Year’s Resolution Tips That Will Help Turn Your Words Into Actions

1. 1. 1. Set Reasonable and Attainable Goals — Rome wasn’t built in one day, so if you set unreasonable and unattainable goals, you are bound to end up feeling bad in the end. An example is the oh-so-common goal of “getting fit”:
         • If your ultimate goal is to shed pounds, realize that it will take some time, so set up smaller mini-goals that aim to get you closer to that finish line.
         • Maybe your goal is to hold a plank hold position to strengthen your core for 5 minutes. Each week, try holding it 30 seconds longer than the week before, and before you know it, you will have your goal attained.
         • Or, maybe your goal is to start working out in general. Start small. Go on a walk everyday. Wait to join a gym (where you may over-commit and over-spend) until you’ve established a routine with daily walks and other free forms of exercise.

   

   1. Keep Resolutions to a Minimum — Getting overzealous can lead to feeling overwhelmed and ultimately giving up, which can be followed by guilt. Guilt can infiltrate your New Years’ Resolutions and your mental health.
      • New behavioral patterns take time, and if too many goals are made, the focus will be scattered instead of united.
      • Focusing on one specific goal will allow you to make the necessary behavioral changes toward that desired intention.
   2. New Year, New Resolution — If you find yourself making the same resolution year after year, maybe it is time for a new one?
      • Trying something new will help avoid repeating past failures because if you tried and failed, your self-belief can become diminished.
      • If you decide to repeat a past resolution that didn’t pan out, take time to go over your strategies and what worked best, and ask yourself what prevented you from achieving your goal.
   3. View Setbacks as Opportunities — As with anything we do in life, there will be setbacks, and things will go wrong.
      • A great New Year’s resolution tip is, instead of looking at setbacks as failures, look at them as opportunities to learn from your mistakes and grow from them.
      • Understand the challenges you face so you can be better prepared to deal with them in the future.
   4. Ask for Support — It’s ok to ask for help, because putting extra stress on yourself isn’t going to be a positive mental health New Year’s resolution solution.
      • A trained therapist can help you understand the connection between the body and the mind.
      • There may be something holding you back from achieving a resolution that is deep within your mind.
      • Having a compassionate therapist shed light on ways to attain your goals while changing unhealthy behaviors is a recipe for a winning resolution all on its own.

   

2. Make the New Year Your Year to Shine

   The best New Year’s resolution tip is not to let self-doubt or other negative thoughts derail your goals in life. At Miami Hypnosis and Therapy, we offer a vast array of treatment options that are integrated individually for each client in our Miami Beach community. Some of the life-transforming therapies we offer include:

   • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — A powerful form of psychotherapy that is based on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors being interconnected where a change in one will affect the others.
     • For example, if you think you can’t do something, you may then feel fearful, which can lead to giving up.
     • CBT can help change the way you think, and ultimately feel and behave.
   • Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) — This form of psychotherapy deals with altering the negative behavior patterns we have established over time and developing new healthier habits that can be learned or “imprinted.”
     • NLP focuses on strengthening the relationship between the conscious and the unconscious mind.
     • You can also increase your problem-solving skills as well as your creativity with NLP.
   • Hypnotherapy — This widely used form of psychotherapy allows self-limiting beliefs and negative behavior to be addressed by the therapist.
     • When a person is under hypnosis, they are far more receptive to having negative thoughts or behaviors altered into a more positive state.
     • Hypnotherapy allows things that might be holding you back to be addressed and put to rest.

   Bring in the new year with healthy goal setting, and don’t let anything hold you back. Let Miami Hypnosis and Therapy help you reach any goal you want with new year’s resolution tips you can adhere to.

   Contact us today and take that first step in creating an empowering resolution for your new year and making that goal stick!