Resolutions Aren't Just for January

The beginning of a new calendar year can be a motivating time to set resolutions or commit to healthy changes. Most of us do it. We set our sights on resolutions for the new year, and that's normal. But we can set our resolutions any time: type 2 diabetes resolutions aren't just for January!

Why do resolutions often fail?

Do you ever feel pressured to set New Year's resolutions? Well, you're not alone. Setting resolutions with pressure as your primary motivation may not be conducive to putting action behind them. You may be setting resolutions or goals that are too broad or unrealistic rather than starting small and making resolutions achievable. Plus, making changes is hard. It takes time and persistence to create new routines in your everyday life.

All of this can lead to us feeling bad about ourselves if we don't stick with changes and completely give up on our resolutions, which happens to many people.

Managing type 2 diabetes is a year-round effort

Living with type 2 diabetes means we have to be vigilant all the time. It's essential to make changes to improve your diabetes management, no matter the time of year.

Let's look at it this way. If I choose to make my New Year's resolution to start on January 1st, I sometimes do even worse leading up to that date. I might eat food high in fats and sugar, knowing I'll "fix" my eating habits in January. The problem is that if I don't fix things in January, I've just added more unhealthy eating to my schedule for no reason.

Another issue is that if I fail, as I often do, I feel like a failure, leading to negativity and being down on myself. Many people are hard on themselves when they don't do what they had set out to do as a goal. And it isn't just me or you. You'll often see the gyms being their busiest at the new year, then taper off as people stop going. I've done it plenty.

Make wise decisions all year

Here's the thing. You don't have to feel down on yourself if you make a mistake. You can start over any time and take some pressure off yourself. Maybe for breakfast, you didn't stick to your new nutrition plan. At lunch, make choices to get you back on track!

Often, that may work better because you don't feel like you've ruined your entire nutrition plan.

No one is perfect, and we sometimes fail at what we set out to do. But cut yourself some slack. Think about your goal and then create the smaller, manageable steps and changes that will lead you to that goal. Don't adhere to just one date out of the year. You'll be more successful that way. And we all want to be a success when it comes to our health goals, especially with type 2 diabetes.