Bath hypnotherapist Phil Mattingly is supporting Mind, Britain’s leading mental health charity, in warning that setting New Year’s resolutions can lead to feelings of failure and inadequacy. Paul Farmer, Mind’s chief executive said: "New year's resolutions can sometimes focus on our problems or insecurities such as being overweight, feeling unhappy in our jobs or feeling guilty about not devoting enough time to friends and family throughout the year. We chastise ourselves for our perceived shortcomings and set unrealistic goals to change our behaviour, so it's not surprising that when we fail to keep resolutions, we end up feeling worse than when we started." [1]
Research from Dr. Richard Wiseman of the Unviersity of Hertfordshire shows that at least 70% of people fail to keep the most popular New Year resolutions of stopping smoking, losing weight or taking more exercise. [2] Such failures often lead to feelings of guilt, frustration or self-loathing, especially if the failures are repeated. Revisiting old resolutions can aggravate the problem, but research also shows that some simple steps can help.
Men are more likely to be successful if they turn their resolutions into defined goals, while women do better if they tell friends and family what they are trying to accomplish. Hypnotherapist Phil Mattingly agrees: ‘Most people struggle with their New Year resolutions because they set them badly without realizing it. Those mistakes are avoidable, but most people are never taught how to set a good resolution.’
Among the common mistakes that resolution setters make are concentrating on stopping the problem rather than creating the solution, and resolving to do things that make them resentful rather than inspired. ‘If you resolve to go to the gym because you think you should, you’ll fail, but if you resolve to go because you’re inspired to run a half-marathon for charity, your chances are much better’ Phil suggests.
To help those determined to change their lives during the New Year, Phil is offering a free guide to making better New Year resolutions at his website, www.bath-hypnotherapy.com. ‘Many people start January with positive intentions and end it more stressed and frustrated. That’s avoidable, and I hope that people will use these simple tips to give themselves a much better chance of feeling healthier and happier in 2009.’
[1] Mind (2009) press release.
[2] Wiseman, R. (2007) University of Hertfordshire
