New Years Resolutions for Caregivers

It’s that time again, when everyone spends at least a little time reviewing the past year, and starts to make plans for the next. But when you are a caregiver, sometimes you feel a bit overwhelmed. You tend to be very busy, and may start to feel like you don’t even have a moment to sit down and relax- much less think about goals and plans for the next week- let alone the next year. 

When most people think of their goals and resolutions, they tend to center around the “big three” topics: health, wealth, and relationships. They tend to set lofty goals, promising that “this time, I am going to do what it takes to [insert goal here].”

But for caregivers whose lives are dictated by someone else’s needs and schedule, it can be very discouraging to imagine trying to complete a goal that would require hours of devotion.

So what if you tried setting a different kind of goal this year? What if, instead of focusing on the end goals, you focused on smaller daily or weekly tasks that would still move you forward towards the life you wanted, without the kind of guilt trip that makes you feel like giving up by the time that February rolls around?

For example, say you would like to lose some weight this year. A small focus to move you forward might be to set a goal of eating a healthy lunch every day. You don’t have to focus on breakfast or dinner right now, or running a mile, or going to the gym. Your focus is just to keep working on eating a good, healthy lunch every single day.

Once you have found a rhythm and eat healthy lunches around 80-90% of the time, then you have basically established a new habit. You have figured out the recipes you like, you have learned where everything you need is located at the grocery store, and you have learned to overcome the desire to snack on junk food at lunch. Congratulations! 

Now you can start to think about adding another small goal to the mix. Now that you have lunch down, is it time to figure breakfast out? Or Dinner? Or is it time to add a stroll through the neighborhood, or some jumping jacks in front of the TV? Select just one thing, and keep at it until you are able to do both it and your old habit daily. 

If, by the end of the year, you have only changed your lunches, you still did something amazing, and you likely got a lot farther along in your journey to be healthy than you would have if you chose to set a huge goal that you failed at once or twice, and then gave up. 

If you are feeling super-ambitious, you can set a small goal in each of the “big three” areas- a goal for your health, a goal for your wealth/money/income, and a goal for your relationships. Really think about the reality of your situation, and whether the small goal you are setting is actually small enough to be realistic and attainable. Set yourself up for success, knowing that you can add something else as soon as you have established a new habit. 

We here at Coastal Home Health & Hospice hope you have an amazing New Year, and wish you health and happiness.