Dr Christine Carter
a former GPS speaker discusses reacting to setbacks and failures
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This week is an important one for people who made New Year's
resolutions. Here's why: if you can keep your resolution for the rest of the
week, you'll be much more likely to end the year having kept it,
too.
When starting a new habit, it can be frustrating to fail. But
failing is also essential to the process of creating a habit that sticks. Unless
you are some sort of superhero, you will not be able to get into a new habit
perfectly the first time. You'll trip and fall and royally screw up-just like
the rest of us. And then you'll have the opportunity to learn something from
your failure that you probably couldn't have learned any other way.
In other words, faltering is a normal part of the process. It
doesn't matter if you have a lapse, or even a relapse, but it does matter
how you respond. If you've had a slip, don't get too emotional or succumb
to self-criticism.
Take Action: If you've started faltering, the first
thing to do is forgive yourself. Remember, lapses are a part of the process, and
feeling guilty or bad about your behavior will not increase your future success.
Make a plan for the next time you face a challenge similar to the one that
caused your lapse. What will you do differently? What have you learned? What
temptation did you face that you can remove? Is there something that you need to
tweak? Were you stressed or tired or hungry-and if so, how can you prevent that
the next time?
See More:
Happiness Tip: Fail at Your New Year’s Resolution