IF you're struggling to stick to a New Year's resolution, fear not, says Dr Sally Hunt.
"It's funny, isn't it, how we think this arbitrary line on a calendar is more meaningful than any other day," said Dr Hunt, a senior lecturer at the University of Newcastle.
"The night from December 31 to January 1 is no different to any other night and so intentions we set on January 1 are no more or less important or powerful than intentions we set any day."
She said most people who set resolutions or goals don't "follow through consistently".
"If you find you haven't started that behaviour change you thought about, back up a little bit and identify whether or not it was the right goal for you and whether or not the behaviour change you're focused on is actually meaningful and important enough for you," she said.
"The way I think about it is the 'why' of the behaviour change rather than focusing on what that change is going to be.
"So I can easily say 'I'm going to walk five days a week', that's a very clear behaviour goal, but if haven't identified why that's important to me then when, as it inevitably happens, things come up in life that get in the way of me being able to follow through on that, it's much easier for it to fall off my radar of important things to do than if I focused on why it would be important to me."
Dr Hunt said considering your values and what matters to you will help to identify your 'why'.
In the case of exercise this could include being healthy, ageing well or achieving a physical goal.
"That value will drive the behaviour and if one week you don't achieve the concrete behaviour goal it becomes part of the bigger process, instead of 'Oh well I only walked once this week, I may as well give up'... when we say 'I didn't achieve the thing so everything is lost, I may as well chuck it out the window' that's really common and really unhelpful."
Dr Hunt said often people haven't yet changed their behaviour because they liked doing things the other way or had valid "competing desires in the other direction".
She suggested thinking about what is "driving the status quo", what you may like about doing things differently and imagining life 12 months, two years and five years down the track if you don't make change.
"The short term results of behaviour change can be quite uncomfortable, it's about sacrifice of some sort, so actually picturing the long term gain and making a point to focus on that can be really motivating for people.
"If people find they're not then able to achieve the goal they've set and it is something important to them, try breaking it down into smaller more achievable steps that can be built on."
Dr Hunt said it was important to be aware of negative self talk; patient and kind to yourself; and focus on what you have achieved.
She said it could be useful talking to family, a doctor or financial planner for support and guidance.
"Relapse or lapses in a behaviour are actually part of the process... it is almost necessary for behaviour change.
"I think about it as setting a path of intention, 'Where am I going to walk this year?' Some days you take more steps down that path than others - and that's okay."
