December 22, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - New Year's is a time of resolutions and many resolve to lose weight, shape up and tread cautiously with their money. To make new behaviors stick, people need a self-prescribed 'game plan' for noticeable change, said University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Associate Professor Josh Klapow.
Klapow is a clinical psychologist and author of Living Smart: 5 Essential Skills to Change Your Health Habits Forever. He said with a little planning anyone can turn a resolution into a habit and a kept promise. Klapow offers five tips for sticking with resolutions on his blog http://blogs.uab.edu/drjoshk. They include:
- Set a very specific goal. "Know exactly what you're trying to achieve. For example, exercise is not a goal, but walking three days a week for 20 minutes is a goal," Klapow said. More major changes need short- and long-term goals, he said.
- Monitor forward steps. "Keep track of what you're doing toward change. Mark the calendar, diary or tick off the checklist every time you achieve the new behavior. Self-accountability has a lot to do with happy habits," he said.
- Arrange to succeed. "Chiefly this means modifying your environment to remove barriers. Put exercise clothes out at night for a morning workout, or to cut back on sweets get them out of the house or keep them out of reach," Klapow said.
- Recruit a support team. "Research clearly shows that having others support you in behavior change lends help toward success. Ask family and friends to advocate and cheer you on, and show them markers of progress along the way," he said.
- Treats as reward. "It is human nature to expect a reward from hard work, and research shows rewards help solidify behavior change. So plan now for treating yourself after consistently sticking with a New Year's resolution," Klapow said.