New Year’s resolution fail? No worries, experts give top tips to reset, refocus and try again

You haven’t gone from couch potato to gym junkie in the past three weeks, have you?

Made a New Year’s resolution and broken it already? You are not alone.

Research shows 91 per cent of well-intentioned Australians don’t stick to their start-of-the-year resolution beyond the middle of January – despite more than a third resolving to do so.

But the experts say don’t beat yourself up with the key to keep goals realistic goals – that it is a mistake to expect to go from couch potato to a five-day a week gym junkie.

“It is almost certain you will have a setback at some point – have that sneaky cigarette or two, choose sugary drinks and a burger for lunch – what is important is that you see it as a lapse and not a failure,” Adelaide Uni’s Elaine Fox, a psychology professor, said.

“You need time and a plan to change not only what you do, but how you see yourself as you chip away at long held habits and patterns.

“If you think about it, most negative habits are acquired in stages, so they are best reversed in a similar way … you don’t start smoking cigarettes at the rate of a packet a day – so expecting to go back to zero in a short space of time is a bit unrealistic.”

Still, she says, the tradition of New Year’s resolutions is not a waste of time.

“It reminds us to assess where we are at in life and what we might want to change, but it is important to approach those changes with a full understanding that it is not a magical process – it takes planning and persistence,” Prof Fox said.

The Switch Craft: The Hidden Power of Mental Agility author said preparing for maintenance and relapse was also key.

Ruth Crowther, a registered psychologist at The Banyans Healthcare group, said the focus should be on “creating positive and sustainable change”.

“There are a myriad of ways to pursue goals and expectations for the year in a healthy and positive way,” Dr Crowther said.

Here are her top tops:

ENSURE your goals are realistic; create digestible and simple goals.

KEEP your goals flexible; be adaptable and flexible … you’ll more likely see progress and feel less pressure.

CELEBRATE the wins; no matter how big or small.