JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Heading into 2022, psychologist Dr. Tracy Alloway said think of New Year's resolutions more like a mindset shift to get your goals to stick.
“I would suggest that for this year, skip New Year's resolutions altogether, and instead focus on what is a value to you," Alloway said.
“Instead of thinking, 'what should I be doing,' like should I be, you know, having a certain health goal or a certain status goal, or social goal, you know, whether it's family or children, or a partner, and so on, instead of having these socially prescribed goals, I would suggest that, and research demonstrates that it's much more effective if we switch our perspective, to a value framework of value mindset. In other words, take a moment and stop and think what is of value to you," she said.
For example, Alloway said, instead of saying you need to go to the gym five times a week, ask yourself, 'am I getting fresh air? Am I being active?'
“Those are ways to actually achieve your value rather than having something that may be socially prescribed, like, I need to get a gym membership. I need to do x y," she said.
Alloway said also evaluate your social relationships going into 2022.
“I know that the tendency is just because we have felt so isolated to kind of swing and say, 'well, I should go to this event. I should do that.' And for some of us, maybe that's part of our process to become socially balanced again. But it's also a good time to stop and evaluate. Is this energizing you? What value are these relationships offering into your everyday life," Alloway said.
It's a good reset, Alloway said, to better your mental health.
"I think the one takeaway as we approach 2022 is to really identify what is a value to you, rather than what someone tells you you should be doing. But stop and take stock," she said.
"What do you value? In a year from now, what would you look back and say, 'you know, I really value this,'" Alloway said.
Alloway said to help maintain your goals for the next year, write down what you want your future self to look like, and what you'd look like if you didn't make any changes. She called it goal framing, a way to motivate yourself to achieve what you set out to do in 2022.