New Year's resolutions are a common tradition for setting intentions for self-improvement, with health behaviour goals being a popular choice. However, many people struggle to stick to these goals, making it a common cliché. Research has shown that over half of people fail to enact their health behaviour intentions.
There are various reasons why people struggle to follow through on their health behaviour goals. Strategic challenges, such as flawed approaches to goal-setting, and basic human tendencies play a significant role in this difficulty. For example, people tend to prioritize short-term gratification over long-term health benefits, making it challenging to engage in physical activity regularly.
To overcome these challenges, developing detailed plans, monitoring progress regularly, and making the health behaviour as pleasant and convenient as possible can be effective strategies. Understanding the reasons behind the struggle to stick to intentions is crucial in developing counter-measures to improve adherence to health behaviour goals.
While it may be challenging to stick to health behaviour goals initially, forming habits through repeated actions and finding satisfaction in practicing these behaviours can make it easier to continue over time. By acknowledging the primal desires that tempt us to abandon our health goals and enacting our valued intentions instead, we can increase the likelihood of sticking to our health behaviour goals in the long term.
Remember, a few slipped days are inconsequential to the overall goal of improving health behaviours. By focusing on developing effective strategies and forming habits, sticking to those intentions in the short term can lead to long-term success in achieving better health outcomes.