Social Work/Well being News

Have you made a New Year’s resolution this year? Are you still on track?

Studies have shown that about 60 percent of people admit to making New Year's resolutions but only about 8 percent are successful in achieving them, with around 80% already unsuccessful by February. Often this is because these resolutions are made with little or no thought or planning and are vague statements like lose weight, get fit, or start a new hobby.

While I am personally not a fan of New Year’s resolutions I do think that the beginning of the year is a great time for self-reflection and to evaluate things in your life. Ask yourself questions like: What is going well? What are my strengths and weaknesses? What needs improving? What do I struggle with? Am I satisfied? What struggles do I face? What is important to me? What are my values? This will give you a starting point to look at making changes.

Setting goals are a great way to give yourself direction, focus and motivation. Goals can be big or small, short term and long term.

The new school year in particular provides a perfect chance for students to set new goals. Setting goals has a positive impact, helping students improve their effort, attention and persistence.

A few tips

Goals should be specific, challenging but realistic
Write them down
Involve and share with family members or friends, as this commits you to them and makes your efforts more focused
Make them long term and short term
Remember to give a reason why the goal is important as this helps you to stay motivated
Be flexible – you may need to review and tweak them along the way
Focus on developing your skills, and the journey not just the end result
Consider obstacles so you can plan and be fully prepared

Remember while achieving your goal is great the focus should be on developing your skills along the way, not just the end result.

Creating healthy habits helps your mental health and wellbeing. A habit is something that is routine to you and that you repeat, often without knowing it. Some habits are good, while some are bad.

Good habits include things like a healthy diet and exercise, healthy sleeping habits, healthy and positive relationships, good work/life balance, good time management, assertive communication, stress management, relaxation and mindfulness.

Creating healthy habits in these aspects of your life create improvements both physically, mentally and emotionally. Simple things like getting into the habit of eating a healthy breakfast, high in fibre each morning can have many positive consequences. Studies have found that students who skipped breakfast or only had an energy drink performed worse in attention and memory tasks when compared to those who had eaten breakfast. Beyond academic performance, eating breakfast is linked to a whole range of positive consequences. These include enhancing memory, increasing concentration, better eating habits throughout the day, improving physical and mental health, boosting energy levels and increasing the likelihood of physical activity.

Behaviour change is hard. Really hard! Sometimes there is a big gap between intention and action. By maintaining motivation, maximising self-control, looking after yourself, and weaving new behaviours into daily habits, you give yourself the best chance possible.

Building a team around you to create a supportive environment is key. There is an old African proverb which states, ‘if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together’. Share your goals with others. This will keep you accountable and support you to make changes or achieve your goals. Family, friends and teachers and many others are there to support and help you.

There is a wealth of information on School TV on various topics to including physical and mental health including food and nutrition, exercise, mindfulness and sleep. Check out the list of topics here:

https://mccww.catholic.schooltv.me/category-latest-newsletter

I encourage you to reach out if you have concerns or would like some support, please do not hesitate to contact me