For a lot of people, January is the time to start new traditions and create new goals for the year to come. New Year’s resolutions are a common strategy for setting off on a good foot for the year, but do they work?

The U.S. News & World Report reports that it is estimated that 80% of people who make New Year’s resolutions fail at them, for numerous reasons. No matter how enthusiastic you may be heading into the next year with ambitions and new ideas, it is critical to be realistic. Start with a goal to make resolutions that work and that you can actually follow through on.

Focus on Creating Good Habits

During your drug and alcohol addiction treatment, you will spend some time focused on creating goals. This is an opportunity for you to understand what your needs are and how you plan to overcome the challenges you are facing. Using those addiction recovery goals as a starting point, consider what you can do to help support your long-term recovery this year.

Instead of a big goal that’s really hard to achieve, start with good habits. Instead of putting a big endpoint and destination on your year, consider the benefit of putting in place daily or weekly strategies that help you establish good habits. Here are some ways to do that.

Establish and maintain your mentorship

Having a mentor during addiction recovery is one of the most important steps to success. A mentor will help you prevent relapse in the toughest of moments. Your first step of the year could be to reach out to your mentor if you have not done so yet. Start a conversation and include this person in your life on a consistent basis going forward. Your goal may be to reach out weekly or every other week, for example.

To help you achieve this goal, set up an appointment in your digital calendar to reach out. Find a time or location to visit each month for a cup of coffee.

Add a stress management technique to your routine

Another good habit to get into in the New Year is better-managing stress. There is no way to eliminate stress from your life – even in the best of situations, it will creep in. However, you can put in place strategies to better manage it.

For example, engage in some level of self-care every single day. It could be going for a walk, relaxing in a hot bath, or just stepping away from everyone else to meditate. Make it a habit to do this every single day so you are combatting the negativity of stress.

Focus on your foundation of health

Next, consider your health a valuable asset – it’s really the most important one you have. Provide your body with everything you need to establish a strong, healthy future. That means focusing on the following:

• Getting at least 8 hours of sleep every day
• Eating a wholesome diet
• Not smoking
• Getting some type of exercise every day

These are very important components of overall well-being. If you are hungry, tired, or feeling ill, you are more likely to struggle with addiction recovery. When you need resources to help you overcome these challenges, reach out to our compassionate team. Let us help you create a better way forward.

Create achievable goals

Instead of big resolutions for the next year, consider more attainable goals that focus on what is very important to you. Start small, with just steps that lead to a bigger outcome you desire. You can work with your addiction treatment counselor to help you in creating those goals.

Make sure your goals are as clearly defined as possible:

• State exactly what you hope to do.
• Put a time limit on it.
• Make sure your goals are measurable – how do you know when you achieve them?
• Create an action-based statement that states what you will do.
• Discuss how you will make it happen and who will support you.

Remember that goals are not meant to be so big and overpowering that they seem like something to deal with at some time in the future. Instead, create small goals you can work on today, this week, and this month. What is most important to you now?

Establish the First Step of Care – Call Our Team

At Victory Addiction Recovery Center in Lafayette, LA, we are here for you, always. As we move into the next year, let our team create an opportunity for you to recover in a meaningful way.

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