This article is featured in the Illawarra Mercury and is republished with permission.
It's the new year. You're awake at 4am with your joggers laced up and ready to start training for your first marathon in six weeks.
Ten minutes later, the New Year's resolution you have set for yourself has already failed as you crawl back into bed sweaty and out of breath.
Australian Psychological Society president Dr Sara Quinn said it was important not to view an incomplete resolution as a failure.
"These are setbacks, and they're actually what we would call an opportunity to learn and to adapt," she said.
"We know individuals who view setbacks as a learning opportunity are actually more likely to persist and they're the ones that are more likely to succeed in actually achieving their goals."
Failure to achieve goals could leave people "quite upset," according to Dr. Quinn, who recommended talking with a psychologist to develop strategies for approaching your resolution.
"Number one is to make a resolution that's going to be realistic," she said.
"If you want to improve your productivity at work or your fitness levels, commit to something that requires a sustainable effort to achieve.
"Not something that involves a schedule that is going to hit so hard it's going to burn you out and you're going to lose interest straight away."
'Doing more' instead of avoiding
Scheduling your goals realistically involves not planning to go to the gym seven times a day at 5am or not planning to run a marathon without adequate preparation.
Dr Quinn said setting resolutions around "doing more of something" is more likely to succeed than "avoiding something".
"If you have an approach-oriented goal such as eating more veggies, that's been shown to have more success than avoiding eating any sweet treats," she said.
"It would actually be really important to celebrate those small wins," she said.
"Being able to note your progress, so say 'for three days a week I'll make my own dinner'.
"Noting that progress actually helps you stay motivated, you notice it more if you write it down and if you celebrate with others."
According to Dr Quinn, New Year's resolutions could be "a powerful motivator" but "it's not for everyone."
"There are many other ways to create healthy habits and set goals for the year," she said.
Start small, when you have smaller goals, you can achieve them more quickly.
"These little earlier successes might seem really small to some people.
"If you celebrate those early successes, you're more likely to build the momentum and build your confidence over time, which makes it easier to tackle those bigger objectives you have over the year."