It is that time of year when you may be thinking of areas of your life you want to change. You may have goals like running a marathon, getting married, or learning a different language. How often do you follow through with achieving your New Year’s goals? At times, goals can become unrealistic expectations due to being so overwhelming that you get frustrated and give up. On the other hand, setting realistic resolutions can motivate you and keep you centered in your recovery.
This blog post will delve into the dangers of creating unrealistic goals in recovery and explore how doing so can become a trigger. What’s more, the blog post will discuss how to make realistic resolutions and how The Guest House can help to hold you accountable.
Why Are Realistic Resolutions Important?
A new year offers somewhat of a “reset” button in your life. You may be experiencing the same stressors as you did last year or you may be struggling with new triggers. Often, a new year means you can find a new perspective in your life.
Generally in life, there is so much pressure to do all the things you should as a responsible person plus maintain your recovery. Adding a New Year’s resolution can create added pressure. Sometimes it is easy to think of a major goal you want to conquer but fail to create a plan on how to follow through. This is one of many reasons why it is important to set realistic goals.
When an unrealistic goal is set, you may lose motivation to follow through with it. You may start feeling overwhelmed and decide to give up. For example, making a goal of going to the gym every day may be unrealistic if you haven’t been to the gym in years. A realistic resolution will be a small goal that can be achieved through making small adjustments in your daily life.
How Do I Create Realistic Goals?
Goal-setting sounds like a boring subject; however, it does not have to be boring at all. You get to choose what goal you want to focus on and how that will work for you. Setting realistic goals is like a roadmap for your recovery. Setting goals will encourage sobriety and keep you accountable. Creating realistic goals can be difficult initially because the brain thinks “the bigger the better.” You want to focus on the completion rather than how big the goal is. To make your goal-setting realistic, try to keep these pointers in mind:
- Set a small, specific goal: First, think about something you would like to accomplish. Be specific. When your goal is too big, you may self-sabotage by quitting before you try due to feeling overwhelmed. If this is something you struggle with, The Guest House has qualified therapists who can help you overcome self-sabotaging tendencies.
- Shift your mindset: Secondly, change your thoughts regarding this goal. Take a moment to think about what this goal would mean to you if you accomplished it. How would it impact your life? Sometimes you have to change your perspective on obtaining the goal, develop positive thoughts about it, and determine its meaning to you.
- Write about it: Lastly, practice journaling to keep a record of thoughts and feelings associated with this realistic goal. Sometimes writing our progress down has a greater impact than you realize. Furthermore, you will be able to see your progress and all that you have accomplished.
What Is a Smart Goal?
You will continue to set goals throughout your life and these goals need to be SMART. This type of goal is used throughout recovery because of the five aspects that keep you grounded. Also, these aspects can assist in re-evaluating your goals as needed. Even Forbes magazine encourages the use of SMART goals for New Year’s resolutions by encouraging readers to set achievable goals.
Let’s explore what the acronym stands for:
- Specific: Realistic resolutions need to be clear and concise. Define what your goal is and the action that needs to be taken.
- Measurable: It’s important to create measurable milestones that go with the goal. This is to track your progress. For example, I will walk every day does not measure anything. However, I will walk every day for 20 minutes to measure a goal. You will be able to track your progress with a smartphone, a watch, or just a timer.
- Achievable: A realistic resolution needs to be attainable to maintain the passion to achieve it.
- Relevant: The goal or realistic resolution needs to be parallel to your cause. It needs to be aligned with your thought process and provide you with a relevant benefit in the area you’re focusing on.
- Time: Goals need a time frame for accomplishing them.
How Can The Guest House Help With Realistic Resolutions?
Setting realistic resolutions can be difficult. After all, it is a new year and you want to embrace a new attitude. However, making realistic resolutions can be the difference between setting yourself up for success or failure in creating goals.
At The Guest House, we understand how hard it is to set goals that you can easily achieve. It may have been a long time since you’ve felt confident enough to try. Wherever you are in your recovery journey, we support you and will offer you unconditional positive regard as you work toward change.
It can be discouraging to think about all the goals you have made and did not follow through with. Changing your thought process to consider more realistic resolutions may be just what you need to make headway toward those goals. Oftentimes, people make goals unachievable to sabotage themselves. Deep down, they might think they are undeserving or not good enough. At The Guest House, we are aware of the negative thought processes involved and how they can sabotage your goals. That is why we meet you where you are at and offer a nonjudgemental environment for healing. If you or someone you know is struggling and needs help, give us a call at (855) 483-7800.