The Truth About New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s Eve has become more than just a holiday or a time to party for many of us. We look at it as not only a celebration of the past year, or in the case of 2020, a celebration that it is finally over, but also as a chance for a fresh start. So while we go into the new year with resolutions and the best of intentions to keep them, it doesn’t take most of us very long to give up. In fact, about 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February. One possible explanation for this is that many people tend to be hoping for a quick fix instead of realistic, achievable, and lasting change, and therefore lack the necessary motivation and commitment to keep their resolutions. 

When making resolutions simply in the spirit of celebration without any real thought into what it takes to achieve them, the enthusiasm and effort felt at the beginning of the year begin to quickly wane. With our inevitable lack of progress towards achieving our resolutions, we soon end up reverting back to old habits. This can be very discouraging and lead many people to believe that they simply do not possess the necessary skills and abilities to achieve positive and lasting change, but maybe the reality is that most new year’s resolutions are flawed to begin with. By setting a specific future date to implement changes implies that we will only begin to make changes once that date arrives rather than doing it now, and there is simply no logic in that. All of us are works in progress so we should strive to implement change into our lives on a regular basis, not just once a year. 

So instead of making resolutions this new year, incorporate healthy behaviour into your everyday life by setting goals along with strategies for achieving them. The difference between a goal and a resolution is that a resolution is a decision to (not) do a specific behaviour while a goal is a series of planned out steps designed to help you achieve the end result you are aiming for. In this respect, creating specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely (SMART) goals, instead of new year’s resolutions, is the key to long-term success and growth. Below are some guidelines for how you change your life for the better starting today:

  • Decide and commit to making a change.
  • Start immediately, do not wait for new year’s day to come around. There is no better time than the present moment.
  • Set realistic goals and when necessary, break them down into smaller, more easily achievable goals. Once you start achieving these smaller goals, you will be motivated to keep moving towards your bigger, seemingly hard to reach goals.
  • Document what you want to achieve.
  • Have a strategy or system in place for achieving your goals and identify possible obstacles or areas for potential set-backs. Your enthusiasm and motivation may wane over time but you can mitigate their effect by having a plan in place to push through. 
  • Be as specific as possible when setting goals and make sure that they are specific, measurable, and have a deadline. 
  • Understand that true purpose of what you want to achieve.
  • Do not overshoot! Select the 1 or 2 goals that are most important to you and focus on them. Once you see that you are able to achieve these, you will be more motivated to continue setting goals and working towards improving your life – throughout the year. 
  • Adopt a mindset of absolute belief and faith that you can accomplish whatever you put your mind to.

Starting 2021 with no New Year’s resolutions can be a liberating experience of getting what you really want. By setting goals throughout the year, you are giving yourself permission to make incremental progress and enjoy the process instead of getting wrapped up in the outcomes. Small steps become enjoyable and you adopt a growth mindset instead of judging yourself for perceived failures. Real change comes when you know your desired outcome and commit to making your goals a reality. Get everything you want this year and every year, by deciding to set and achieve goals that truly matter to you.

References:

Why New Year’s resolutions fail
Don’t Make New Year’s Resolutions: Do This Instead

The Reason You Feel “SAD” During The Winter

The winter season is now upon us, which for some may mean a noticeable  change in our mood. With the sun setting early now and the cold weather taking over, it’s not uncommon to  experience a decrease in motivation and more frequent depressive episodes during this time.

The month of December shines light on Seasonal Affective Disorder, otherwise known as the acronym, “SAD”. This disorder is a type of depression that arises during the change in season. Most people who experience SAD feel their energy being depleted and lose interest in activities they once enjoyed. On the rare occasion, people may experience depression caused by SAD during the spring or early summer months too. 

Symptoms of SAD may include:

  • Feelings of depression as the winter season progresses
  • Low energy
  • Lack of sleep or oversleeping
  • Losing interest and motivation
  • Loss of appetite or weight loss/gain
  • Sluggish and anxious feelings 
  • Suicidal thoughts

The cause of SAD may be due to the reduced level of sunlight in the fall and winter months, a decrease in serotonin levels due to the lack of sunlight, and the body’s level of melatonin becoming disrupted.

If you experience severe symptoms of SAD and do not get treated, it can possibly lead to worse problems such as:

  • Problems at work or school
  • Substance Abuse 
  • Extreme suicidal thoughts or behaviour 
  • Other mental health disorders

Light therapy, medication and psychotherapy are options of treatment you may want to look into if you’re experiencing symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Of course it is normal to have some days of feeling down, but if you feel it an overwhelming amount of times and just can’t get yourself back to normal, you should highly consider seeing a doctor or counselling service. 

Elpizo Community Connect: Navigating The Holiday Season

The Holiday Season has arrived and it is going to be unlike any other. With COVID-19 still being a hot topic, many are opting to change from their traditional routine to a new one. 

Last week on Elpizo’s Community Connect, the team came together and discussed how to navigate this holiday season. If you don’t know what to do this holiday season you should definitely take a look! 

This is our last Community Connect for the year so if you’re interested in the other topics that we cover we recommend going over to our Youtube channel to watch our other Elpizo Community Connect sessions. 

Watch the workshop below and leave us a comment on how your navigating this holiday season! 

[FREE DOWNLOAD] Tips to unlocking the passion in your marriage during this season

Spending time with extended family may be important during the holiday but what is most important to some is to spend time with the loved one that they live with. With 2020 coming to a close many have spent months together with their spouse which could lead to many losing their passion in their relationship because of the lack of separation from one another. Luckily, if you feel like your relationship needs a little spark going into the new year, Elpizo has created Tips To Unlocking The Passion In Your Marriage During This Season downloadable PDF. 

This document will go over plenty of tips to spark passion into your marriage, such as: 

  • – Examples of fun activities you and your spouse can do over the break 
  • – COVID-19 activities you and your partner can engage in
  • – Explaining how “influence” can be beneficial in your relationship and much more!

Read the full document, Tips To Unlocking The Passion In Your Marriage During This Season, by clicking the cover below. 

[FREE DOWNLOAD] Post-Holiday Blues: Dealing With The Aftermath of the Holidays

Even though the Holiday Season may be enjoyed for some, a lot of the time for others it is the other way around. For some people, they might not have any holidays at all and have to work while others get a break from work. Some folks might experience anxiety from seeing family or during current times seeing family during a pandemic. When the holidays are over mixed emotions will have to be dealt with, and Elpizo has created tools to help you deal with the holiday aftermath. 

Some tools that we go over are things like how to deal with changes in a healthy way when the holidays come to close. One of these ways is by using coping strategies to help sudden shifts, whether good or bad. 

Another tool that we go over is how to plan for those post-holiday blues. One tip that we give in planning is to “Reach Out” which has you reaching out to talk to a mental health professional. You can do this now by calling Elpizo Counselling Services at 1-877-335-7496. 

To read the tip list on how to deal with the aftermath of the holidays, click the cover below.

[FREE DOWNLOAD] Holidays Without Loved Ones

With the holidays just days away people around the world are deciding how they will be spending their well-deserved break. For many people, the option of spending time with family is not available due to the pandemic. We at Elpizo know how important it is to spend time during the holidays and that is why we created a document on how to handle it. 

In the Holidays Without Loved Ones downloadable Elpizo therapist Mary Lepage, goes over the different things you can do over the holidays with your free time which includes doing random acts of kindness, sharing virtual photo albums and creating a new horizon bucket list. If you want to read the whole downloadable click the cover below. 

Make sure to look out for our other downloadables like Preparing for the Holidays and Useful Tips for Families to Navigate This Unique Holiday Season.

 

[FREE DOWNLOAD] Self-care: Recharge, Refocus and Reclaim Your Health

Self-care can come in many forms from writing in a journal to making more social connections. As the new year rolls around is very important to not focus on the ups and downs of 2020 but look forward to 2021 and new beginnings that come with it. We at Elpizo want to make sure that in 2021 you are focusing on self-care, and that is why we created a self-care document to help you get started on your self-care journey. Here are some of the things we cover in are Self-care: Recharge, Refocus and Reclaim Your Health downloadable: 

  • – Things can make self-care challenging
  • – Therapists and self-care
  • – Stress-management Tips
  • – Self-care Planners
  • – Holiday Budget Planner 

If you are interested in starting the new year off right, we highly recommend you check out our Self-Care downloadable which is full of tips and tricks to begin your self-care journey. Click the cover below to read the whole document! 

[FREE DOWNLOAD] Useful Tips for Families to Navigate This Unique Holiday Season

With the year coming to a close, we look forward to a new type of holidays where we may or may not be seeing extended family and friends. Instead, we will be spending even more time with the family members in our household as the temperature steadily drops. Elpizo has created some helpful tips that you can use in your family to navigate this unique holiday season. Here are three of the many suggestions we at Elpizo have made for you: 

Plan Early 

With the situation changing week-by-week, some people are still holding off on planning for the holidays. We suggest that you plan early instead and stick with that plan for the weeks to come. By planning early, you can not only better prepare yourselves but also better prepare any children in the house. This way they won’t have the same expectations they always have during the holidays. By preparing them early, you are avoiding any sudden surprises which arrive and allow time for copping if any disappointments may occur. 

Communicate Your Rules in Advance 

With safety being top priority, communicating your rules in advance will help prepare family and friends if they decide to come over. Not everyone agrees on what is safe, especially in the current world climate we live in today. Communicating rules on masks, advanced testing, and even hugging can help take away any awkwardness on the day of. 

Find the Positives

Many people find the busyness and pressures that usually come with the holiday season stressful. Take the time to slow down this year and focus on the parts of the holiday that are most meaningful to you while staying connected to those you care for and keeping your family safe.

For our full list of tips and bunch of other activities and resources to endure this pandemic holiday, please feel free to download the ‘Useful Tips for Families to Navigate This Unique Holiday Season’ pdf below. Like always if you have any questions about navigating the holidays as a family, please feel free to email us at info@elpizocounselling.com.

Elpizo Community Connect: Effective Communication

Communication is so important in all aspects of our lives! From relationships, to family and even work, your communication skills can mean a great deal and have impact on others. 

This week the Elpizo team discussed effective communication skills and tips during their Community Connect session. If you are interested in learning effective communication skills, then this is a must watch. 

Be sure to join our other weekly sessions where we discuss a variety of useful topics to enhance your personal skills. 

Watch the workshop below and leave us a comment on your own tips for better communication.

Elpizo Community Connect: Time Management

Managing your time well can make all the difference between living a stressful or stress-free life. Join the Elpizo team in this workshop to get some valuable insights and information on time management.

Download the worksheets below:

Time Management Daily Activities Log

Where Does the Time Go Worksheet

References: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/tests/career/procrastination-test-abridged

Watch the workshop below and leave us a comment if you have tips and time hacks of your own.