January Blog

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How to maintain the momentum of the New Year, New Me

The start of the new year feels like a magical time of year where anything can happen and there are endless possibilities. We often indulge ourselves in visions of an ideal life, aspiring to achieve it through dedication of time, resources, and energy. According to Forbes Advisor, almost a third (30%) of Brits will set New Year’s resolutions. This means that a large number of the population are going into the new year with a desire to change their current reality.

If you are reading this blog, it may be that you or someone you know New Year’s resolution might be to make better financial choices, to reduce their gambling, to practise safer gambling, or to take a break from gambling in the new year. An important step in creating your New Years resolution is to understand why you want to achieve the goals you set and be mindful of creating goals that will aid us on a better path rather than deteriorate our current one.

New Year’s resolutions can encourage negative changes.

New Year’s resolutions often encourage negative and harmful changes over positive ones. This is due to setting such high and unrealistic expectations which we often think must be intense and often forced to be completed in a small amount of time.

We offer you an alternative approach, take a moment and reflect on this perspective. Thinks of it like taking a journey, along this journey you can choose to pick up the things you like and desire and take off the things you wish to leave behind. The main goal is to just keep on going and adapting throughout this journey. This perspective links back to habits. When are trying to achieve a goal, such as trying to quit gambling, it may seem unrealistic and overwhelming.  However, when you see the end goal as living a life without dependency on gambling, you can implement or remove structures in your life that will aid this vision into becoming a reality. This may include reaching out to our services at Primary Care Gambling Service and talking to one of our Nurses  who can assist you finding the relevant support and resources that are best suited for you. This can also look like changing the way you spend quality time with people, maybe instead of going to a football game you can go out for a dinner. By adding new habits into your life that will help you achieve your vision for a better year. This can be gradual steps, once you are comfortable can sustain one you can start to implement others. It’s not about the how quickly you get there but about the person you grow to be during this transition. This perspective allows you to find out ‘how best can I make the journey for me’.

The language

The language we use is also important. Rather than saying “I have to” or “I must,” you can try changing the language to “I get to” or “I will try.” Reframing our mindset from negative to positive, helps us feel more empowered in our journey, as it now becomes a choice rather than an obligation.

Here are some examples you can try:

• “I will try to spend less time on my phone gambling, and embrace being more present in my surroundings.” 
• “I will try to listen to my body and give it what it needs to thrive both mentally and physically.” 
• “I will try to practice gratitude when I’m struggling.”

Ultimately, remember that New Year’s resolutions should be about positivity, making beneficial changes.

Register with the Primary Care Gambling Service today.

Published: Jan 1, 2024