At this time of year, many of us will reflect on the year that has passed and on changes and goals we would like to implement going forward.

The new year often sets the scene for an array of resolutions and goals we would like to achieve. The most common resolutions include saving money, eating healthier, exercising more, losing weight, spending more time with family and friends and quitting smoking. This “new start” does not go unnoticed by many organisations, with social media feeds currently full of dietary advice, online exercise classes, gym subscriptions and many other feeds that will inevitably have an effect on the “saving money” resolution.

We may have the best of intentions, but why do so many people make the same resolution year after year, having once again failed to achieve their goal? What is required to turn a new behaviour in to a habit?

It is often said that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. This might sound perfectly achievable on New Year’s Day but by 21 January very few people can say that they have kept their resolutions. One survey showed that only 9% of people do so. That means that a staggering 91% of new year resolutions do not come to pass. Recent studies show that on average, it takes more than two months before a new behaviour becomes automatic - 66 days to be exact. This can vary widely, with some studies suggesting it takes from eighteen to 254 days to form a new habit. Unfortunately, habits take a considerable amount of time, commitment and repetition to become established - a difficult undertaking for us humans, who are programmed for instant gratification.

Habit-forming advice includes:

- Break big goals into small, achievable steps. A weight-loss goal of 10kg is quite daunting, whereas a goal of 1kg at a time is achievable and realistic. Avoid “vague” goals e.g. “be healthier” or “go to the gym”;

- Support from loved ones, or a support group on the same journey, can help one to stay motivated on the tougher days. Online support can be very useful in this context;

- Choose one or two realistic goals. Trying to change many aspects of life all at once only leads to feeling overwhelmed and increases the chance of giving up;

- Planning is a key factor in achieving success, including planning for times when motivation is lacking, e.g. having healthy meals prepared in advance for times when one may feel too tired to cook, or getting to bed early enough to attend the gym the following morning;

- Be kind to yourself. Rome was not built in a day and likewise habits develop slowly and are acquired over time by repetition. Accept that you may go “off plan” occasionally and allow yourself to get back on track once again.  A lapse does not mean failure, so do not let guilt ruin success;

- Acknowledge and award progress. One idea is to put a small sum of money aside each time a step on the journey is achieved, to be spent after a certain number of small steps are accomplished.

Some of the more popular new year challenges include the following:

- Dry January encourages individuals to reduce or completely stop the consumption of alcohol for the month of January. Research has shown that initiatives such as this make people more aware of their alcohol intake and have many health (as well as financial) benefits. Visit https://www.addic.lu/#quisommenous for further information or for help to reduce alcohol intake;

- Veganuary is another initiative associated with the new year. It started in the United Kingdom in 2014 and has grown each year since. The aim of this challenge is to abstain from animal-based products for the month. There is a lot of help and information available at https://veganuary.com for those who are interested in this initiative. For more information on veganism in the Grand Duchy, the Vegan Society Luxembourg’s website is: https://www.vegansociety.lu;

For those wishing to stop smoking, there are many programmes and online support available. Sante.lu has a smoking cessation assistance programme. The following website goes through ten self-help tips to stop smoking: https://www.cmcm.lu/index.php/en/healthadvice/10-self-help-tips-stop-smoking

New year resolutions offer the chance to look at areas of our lives that we would like to improve. Remember that habits take time to form, and to do so short term realistic goals are necessary. Take it day by day. Slip-ups can happen, but that does not mean failure. Be kind to yourself, start over if needs be and the new habit will continue long after January has finished.