Dec 18, 2022 5 min read

Every Jan.1, people across the nation make New Year’s resolutions to do something different to help improve their lives.

“Making those resolutions are one thing, but keeping them can be more difficult to achieve, said Cliff Wonsettler,” a Physical Therapist and Owner of Wonsettler Physical Therapy & Specialized Health, located at 100 Wonsettler Road in Scenery Hill.

“People look at the beginning of the year as a new beginning and fresh start, and that is exactly what it should be,” he said. “There is nothing wrong with that, but when it doesn’t turn into something sustainable in terms of their actions, then (they may) feel it is all for not. What we need to do is reorient our mindset around our resolutions. The way we should go about it is remembering three simple keys.”

The first key to being successful with your new year’s resolutions is what Wonsettler refers to as “good habit routine”.

“Willpower is overrated,” he said. “Most people think they need more willpower and set their mind to it. Very few people have an unusual or remarkable ability around willpower. It all comes down to what type of habits people can put into place. People that set a New Year’s resolution, actually follow through, and make changes to improve their life are successful. They are developing habits that are going to serve them well.”

The second key that Wonsettler expressed is to have an accountability partner.

“If you have an accountability partner, and you are going to hold them accountable, and they are going to do that for you, it really increases the chances that you are going to follow through and stick with it, you will have something lasting and impactful,” he said. “Whether this is a person or something as simple as an app on your phone, accountability is one of the biggest elements of habit-formation.”

The third key to making your New Year’s resolutions stick is adjusting your habits to suit a healthier lifestyle.

“Listing all those things that aren’t serving us well can help bring to our awareness of what those things are so we can put some safeguards in place and bumpers in place to help us avoid those habits that are not serving us well,” he said. “We take inventory of habits that make us live a better lifestyle.”

Wonsettler said author James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones,” is an easy read giving good advice on how to live a better life.

He encourages people looking to make positive changes in their lives to read the book which has garnered widespread acclaim.

“The book “Atomic Habits” really lays this stuff out well,” Wonsettler said. “It is not a textbook-type book. It is a really relatable book that has a ton of good information in there. It has been great for us. I have read it, and I have other Physical Therapists on staff that have read the entire book. We have created some of our own literature around the tools and tricks that he outlines in that book, and we give those to patients because whether you are talking about being healthy or being more healthy, it is all the same. It is all about habits, and having somebody that can lay it out for you.”

Once you have followed these three keys, Wonsettler recommends finding resources such as a personal trainer, health coach, etc.

“Once you know the general direction you are going to go, call them and ask them questions and see if the relationship is going to work,” he said. “There needs to be trust and accountability and they need to be a good resource for you. You need to be able to like and trust that person.”

It can be challenging to keep resolutions and even with these keys, consistency still may be difficult. Wonsettler expressed giving yourself grace.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, and don’t expect too much from yourself,” he said. “You are going to be frustrated and you are going to want to quit. But, if you realize where you started and where you are now, you could see progress.”

Wonsettler said 2023 can be a successful year for resolutions if you have the right plan in place.

“One of the things you can do to succeed in 2023 is find somebody who knows what they are doing, and get that person in your corner, and have them coach you to success,” he said.

For more information visit www.wonsettlerpt.com

Sponsored content brought to you by Wonsettler Physical Therapy and Specialized Health. 

By: Van Mitchell