Wellness Wednesday: Making Your Resolutions Stick This New Year

Every year, I watch people do the same thing: they set bold health resolutions, promise themselves a reinvention, and commit to a level of change that would require a complete personality transplant. Then by February, most feel discouraged and defeated.

As someone with a clinical psychology background, I know this isn’t because people lack discipline or motivation. It’s because the traditional New Year’s resolution model relies on willpower, which is the single weakest tool for long-term behavior change. Habits don’t shift because you want them badly enough—they shift because your environment, identity, and daily micro-actions make it easier to do the behavior than not do it.

Sustainable change isn’t about trying harder; it’s about designing better.

Start With Identity, Not Outcomes

Most resolutions fail because they’re written like punishments:

• “I need to lose 30 pounds.”

• “I have to stop eating sugar.”

• “I should work out every day.”

These are outcome-focused goals—and research shows they’re less effective than identity-based goals because they don’t fundamentally change how you see yourself. According to behavioral scientist Dr. B.J. Fogg and psychologist James Clear’s interpretation of identity frameworks, sustainable habits emerge when you shift the narrative to:

“I’m becoming the type of person who…”

Identity-based goals work because they reduce internal conflict. When your self-concept supports the behavior, consistency becomes easier. For example:

• Instead of “I need to lose weight,” → “I’m becoming the kind of person who nourishes my body with intention.”

• Instead of “I should work out every day,” → “I’m someone who moves regularly because it supports my mental clarity.”

Identity guides decisions automatically. That’s the point.

Use Micro-Habits to Build Momentum

From a psychological standpoint, small, repeatable actions build self-efficacy, which is your belief that you can succeed. High self-efficacy predicts habit sustainability far more powerfully than motivation does.

Micro-habits may feel insignificant, but they create the neurological “wins” that fuel long-term consistency. Some examples:

• One 8-minute walk after lunch

• Adding one serving of vegetables to one meal per day

• Doing the first five minutes of a workout

• Drinking 8 ounces of water upon waking

In behavior science, these are called “starter steps”—behaviors so small that your brain has no reason to resist them. Once the barrier is low, the habit becomes self-sustaining.

The formula I teach clients is simple:

Minimum viable action → repeated frequently → scaled gradually.

If the habit feels too easy, that means you’re doing it right.

Set Goals Using Intention and WOOP

Goal-setting works best when intentions, desires, and obstacles are all acknowledged. The WOOP framework (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan)—developed by psychologist Gabriele Oettingen—has decades of research supporting its effectiveness.

Here’s how I use WOOP with clients:

• WISH: What do you want to improve in 2026?

• OUTCOME: What positive outcome would it create if it happened?

• OBSTACLE: What internal barrier is most likely to get in the way?

• PLAN: What specific “if/then” strategy will you use when it occurs?

Most people skip the “obstacle” piece, but research shows WOOP works because it assumes reality will get messy. WOOP prepares your mind to respond deliberately instead of reactively.

Pair this with intention-based goal setting—asking “Why is this important to me now?”—and you get a powerful foundation for behavior change.

Track Progress Without Shame

Tracking is helpful only if it doesn’t become a weapon against yourself.

Data is neutral. Shame isn’t.

As a coach with a clinical psychology background, I’ve seen how traditional tracking can reinforce all-or-nothing thinking:
“If I didn’t do it perfectly, it doesn’t count.”

Instead, I encourage self-reflective tracking, grounded in curiosity, not judgment:

• “What helped this habit feel easier today?”

• “What obstacles came up and how did I respond?”

• “What patterns do I notice across the week?”

This aligns with cognitive-behavioral principles—awareness without criticism leads to behavioral flexibility, which is strongly correlated with long-term habit maintenance.

A habit log should feel like information, not indictment.

Reframe Setbacks as Part of the Process

Psychologists often say, “Behavior is a cycle, not a straight line.” Setbacks aren’t failures—they are data points.

Here’s the shift:

Old mindset:
“I missed three workouts. I messed up.”

Evidence-based mindset:
“I missed three workouts. Why? What can I adjust? What did this teach me?”

Neuroscience shows that when we respond to mistakes with curiosity, the brain activates problem-solving pathways instead of threat pathways. This makes it easier to course-correct rather than spiral.

A setback becomes a step forward when you learn from it.

Address the Big Three Self-Sabotaging Mindsets

Almost every client I’ve worked with who "can’t stay consistent" is experiencing one or more of the Big Three psychological barriers. Naming them reduces their power.

Fear

Fear shows up as:

• Overthinking

• Procrastination

• “What if I can’t keep this up?”

• “What if I fail…again?”

Fear is the nervous system’s attempt to protect you from discomfort. The antidote is behavioral friction reduction: making the first small step so easy that fear no longer has a grip.

When fear shrinks, action grows.

Comparison

Comparison erodes self-efficacy and creates unrealistic expectations.

It shows up as:

• “Everyone is further along than I am.”

• “It shouldn’t be this hard.”

• “I should be more disciplined.”

Comparison disconnects you from your actual life conditions—your stress load, schedule, health status, and season. Goals only work when they align with reality.

Re-align with this question:

“What is sustainable for me in this phase of life?”

Your timeline is not a race—it’s a rhythm.

Perfectionism

Perfectionism fuels all-or-nothing thinking, impatience, and unrealistic standards.

It sounds like:

• “If I can’t do it perfectly, why bother?”

• “I need to do more.”

• “This should be faster.”

Perfectionism triggers the shame cycle: attempt → burnout → guilt → restart → burnout again.

The antidote is self-compassion, which research from Dr. Kristin Neff shows improves motivation, emotional resilience, and long-term adherence. Self-compassion is not “letting yourself off the hook”; it’s removing the shame that prevents you from trying again.

You don’t need perfect habits—you need consistent ones.

Build a System, Not a New Personality

The most successful clients I’ve worked with didn’t overhaul their lives; they changed their systems.

A supportive system includes:

• A predictable weekly structure

• Clear time boundaries

• Environmental cues (gym clothes out, meals prepped, water bottle filled)

• Accountability from a coach or community

• A plan that assumes obstacles—not avoids them

When your environment supports your goals, you don’t need to be “highly disciplined.” You simply move through a life designed to make the healthier choice the easier choice.

Behavior follows structure.

Make This Year the Year You Choose Sustainability Over Pressure

Resolutions are not about becoming a new person. They are about honoring the person you already are—and creating habits that support the life you want.

Start small.
Start with identity.
Start with compassion.
Start now—not because you “should,” but because behavior change is far more successful when you begin before the pressure hits.

Your habits don’t have to be heroic. They just have to be repeatable.