Make Your Resolution Work

Hey, Friends…

It’s the new year. How do you feel? Bloated and tired? Same. It’s totally okay to be there, and totally necessary to get out of this space for your mental health. I’d love to share a couple of ways that I have learned as a clinician and human being to do just that.

Ever heard of behavioral activation? It’s this term used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that, boiled down to its essential meaning, is the idea that one small move can make other moves feel more possible. What does this look like practically? For example, If you are trying to start going to the gym more often, you don’t allow yourself to internally bargain and negotiate. Instead, you do the first thing the task requires, and see how it feels. Feel okay? Keep going. If you’re trying to get to the gym, put on your shoes and get in the car. I guarantee you’ll feel more motivated to keep going.

The second part of this is so important. After you’ve done the hard work, reflect on how good it feels. Now this is the carrot you use to keep it moving in the future. How this looks practically: you say “Ugh, I don’t want to go to the gym.” However, now that you’ve had the experience of going to the gym and taking that new class, you have the benefit of remembering how it feels emotionally and somatically after you have finished that task. Use that as your bait to keep going. Shift the narrative from “I’m trying to go to the gym more often” to “I am wanting to feel energized and happy more often.” See?

Want to start therapy in the new year? Go to the “Contact Us” section and get connected with a therapist today!

- Stevie Spiegel