Do You Make New Year’s Resolutions?

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Honestly, I’ve never sat down and mapped out a specific goal in preparation for a new year. I’ve done it throughout the year though. I come up with an idea for a race mid-year and set goals. I seek out seminars and additional training programs I want to attend and figure out how to fit that in my schedule throughout the year. However, I’ve never necessarily sat down at the end of a year and said, “In this new year, I will…….”. I feel that I haven’t done this because the connotation of New Year’s resolutions can be very negative. I hear a lot from people saying they want to eat less sugar, drink less coffee, and of course lose weight. This year, I have a different approach to those ideas, and a unique way I’m approaching the upcoming year.

I’d suggest starting with how you want to define 2018. If you had to choose one word to describe your theme for the year, what would it be? Write down several words and narrow it down. Now maybe your theme is a sentence like, “keep moving forward”. That’s fine; come up with something. As you write your lists and define your theme, note the connotation. Let’s stay away from the negative and move towards the positive.

Next up, make a list (there’s a theme here) of words you could use to describe yourself. Within each of those categories, come up with mini goals. Keep in mind your word to describe the year. Let that help you formulate new goals and things you want to accomplish. The next thing to do is to make action steps of how you are going to accomplish these goals. If you want to eat less sugar, you could put a positive spin on it by saying in order to eat less sugar you are going to eat more fruits and vegetables. If you want to lose weight, formulate a goal for incorporating more movement and exercise into your day.

Whether you set New Year’s resolutions or not, having your goals written down is key. Don’t forget the acronym for goal-setting: SMART. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. The biggest thing to remember is to not be hard on yourself if goals change, if life throws you curve balls, and if you’ve got to be flexible. That’s just part of life! Hopefully, you’ve at least got a start to making some positive changes in 2018.

For me, my word of 2018 is growth. There are so many areas of my life where this can apply, and I can always stand to do better. I’ve got some running, parenting, and business aspirations set, and many more to think about.   I’m excited for 2018! Be sure to share your goals with us when you come to the office, and hopefully one of your goals is to be subluxation free. 😊

Dr. Shannon