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How to Make Your New Year’s Resolution Stick


You’ve made a new year’s resolution but how do you make it stick? Fifty percent of people vow to do more exercise, and that resolution is followed by losing weight, saving money, improving your diet, and pursuing a career ambition. But a study by Scranton University found that only 8 percent of people keep their new year’s resolutions.


New year’s resolutions: they’re easy to make but hard to keep. Studies show 30 percent of people give up on their goals by mid-January.


So how do you make resolutions you can keep? Jennifer Blacksmith, Ph.D., HSPP, NCSP, Behavioral Health Director at Northeast Missouri Health Council has these 4 tips to help you stick to your resolution.


1. Make sure the goals are realistic and achievable. Think "SMART" goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound).

2. Share resolutions with at least one person. This holds us accountable and will increase our chances of sticking with them.

3. Reward yourself with progress. Positive reinforcement increases behavior.

4. Imagine yourself reaching your end goal and how your life will be different as this type of thinking helps rewire the brain and improves outcomes.

“Neurologists working on the science of goal-setting have proved that the brain cannot distinguish between reality and imagined reality. So, when we give ourselves a picture of the goal we want to achieve, the mind starts believing it to be real,” said Blacksmith.


Blacksmith says if the goal seems too distant or is too future-oriented, the Medial Prefrontal Cortex activation lowers significantly which is why we may lose interest in sticking to the goals or lose the vision of what might be the best ways to achieve them.


As the famous saying goes, “Begin with the end in mind.” The most crucial aspect of goal-setting is to build an effective plan.


If we set goals by our character strengths, core values, level of motivation, and pledge on sticking to the plan until we reach the aim, there is no way that we won’t get there.



 
 
 

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Northeast Missouri Health Council
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Northeast Family Health

1506 Crown Drive       

Kirksville, MO  63501

Phone:  (660) 627-4493

After Hours: 1-844-820-9111

Hours:

Monday: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. & 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Tues/Wed/Thurs: 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Fri: 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Northeast Pediatrics 

402 W. Jefferson Suite A

Kirksville, MO  63501

Phone:  (660) 627-2229

After Hours: 1-833-745-2217

Hours: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. & 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

OB/GYN Specialty Group 

402 W. Jefferson Suite B

Kirksville, MO 63501

Phone: (660) 665-3555

After Hours: 660-785-1750

Hours: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. & 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Edina Family Health

104 E. Jackson

Edina, MO  63537

Phone: (660) 397-3517

After Hours: 1-844-820-9111

Hours: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. & 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Northeast Dental 

402 W. Jefferson Suite C

Kirksville, MO  63501

Phone:  (660) 665-2741

After Hours: 1-866-292-7780

Hours: 7:45 a.m.-11:45 p.m. & 12:45 p.m.-4:45

Macon Family Health & Macon Dental

209 N. Missouri

Macon, MO  63552

Phone:  (660) 395-5045

After Hours: Medical: 1-844-820-9111

After Hours Dental: 1-866-292-7780

Hours: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. & 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Memphis Community Health Center

118 Grand Ave.

Memphis, MO  63555

Phone:  (660) 465-7522

After Hours: 1-844-820-9111

Hours: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. & 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Kahoka Dental 

22291 US Highway 136

Kahoka, MO  63445

Phone: (660) 727-1500

After Hours: 1-866-292-7780

Hours: M, T, W, F 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Thursday: 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Northeast Family Health - Milan 

52334 S. Business Highway 5

Milan, MO  63556

Phone: (660) 265-1042

After Hours: 1-844-820-9111

Hours:

Mon - Thurs: 7:30 a.m.- 12 p.m. & 1 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. 

Friday: 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Northeast Behavioral Health 

1410 Crown Drive

Kirksville, MO 63501

Phone: (660) 627-3621

After Hours: 1-800-356-5395

Hours: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. & 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Envision Wellness

1506 Crown Drive

Kirksville, MO  63501

Phone: (660) 627-4493,  Ext. 412

Hours: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. & 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Kirksville Veterans Clinic

506 Rosewood Drive

Kirksville, MO 63501

Phone: (660) 627-8387

After Hours: 1-800-349-8262

Hours: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. & 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Business Office

1416 Crown Drive

Kirksville, MO  63501

Phone: (660) 627-5757, Ext. 6

Hours: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. & 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Administrative Offices 

1416 Crown Drive

Kirksville, MO  63501

Phone:  (660) 627-5757 

Hours: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. & 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

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