New Year's Resolutions and Burnout

New Year's Resolutions are a beautiful thing. People decide, often under pressure, some things about themselves they want to fix and make the year following January 1 at 00:01 am the year to make those changes. Stop smoking, quit drinking, lose weight, exercise more, grow in faith, be a better student...

Actually, that's what I despise about New Year's. I love the celebration of the random astronomical event just as much as the next person but we set ourselves up for failure unless we are prepared to make our New Year's resolutions a reality. I almost see a simple irony in the New Year's resolution thing because a resolution, by definition, is action oriented and thought out. "I resolve to lose weight" or "... drink less" and whatever else are fantastic statements but now you have to back it up.

Take me, for example. I am starting up a private psychotherapy practice as part of my NYRs but I have been planning this venture for the better part of the last year; plans that have now been set forth. Additionally I want to work on my weight and cardiovascular health as neither are in particularly great condition. I am a former lifeguard and amateur athlete who is now over 300 pounds. My goal is to get down to 250 pounds by the end of 2016 which is reasonable - about a pound a week - and that also sets me up for long-term maintenance.

To get there you need a plan, a schedule, and an accountability partner - someone who is working with you or has already accomplished the goals you want to accomplish. For my weight loss and exercise I have all three for the whole year and will probably get a couple of others involved by spring to make things more interesting. Scheduling and planning are the hardest parts but that is where I can help. We will set accurate and realistic goals targeting your specific needs and add items to your program to help track your progress.

Burnout is completely avoidable. New Year's Resolution burnout happens when we set expectations for ourselves that we are actually not prepared to complete. We overdo something early, like exercise, and we become exhausted on Day 1 making it difficult to motivate for Day 2, 3, 4, and so on. Over and above scheduling we can also discuss burnout, exhaustion, and motivation so that you can succeed in your NYRs this year and be a better you. Let's work together.

​Join me in making 2016 a healthy and responsible year.