Small changes will lead to better habits in 2021

By Christenna Day, LSW

We made it through 2020, and what a year it was.

But now what?

Did you make the same resolution this week that you made last year? Will you keep it this time?

Now, don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with aspiring to be your best self. We all have dreams, whether that means getting healthy, cutting out a nightly junk food habit or writing a book.

However, pinning those aspirations to a specific date can set you up for failure and needless to say, stress.

Deadlines or artificial starting lines can make change tricky. This is because most times when you give yourself deadlines and start times without any accountability, you’re bound to fail.

Maybe you’re hoping to lose weight or start to workout. Instead of diving into the New Year with a strict diet a long list of off limits food or workout plans, how about choosing one small action item for one goal?

Commit to a half hour a week of exercise or cutting out junk food before bed. Small changes can lead to bigger changes. But big resolutions often leave us with no growth or change.

Small changes along the way this year will help you be successful without all the stress. Here’s to succeeding by reaching a New Year goal with one small lifestyle change!

Christenna Day is director of social services at SKLD New Lebanon. She is a native Daytonian, who has worked in the social service field for over 20 years. Prior to SKLD New Lebanon she worked as a crisis worker for troubled youth, a mental health case manager and team leader, an adult guardianship coordinator and AOD social worker.