We rang in the new Year and are getting ready
to achieve all of our 2020 three goals.
Some of you may just have an idea of
the things you want to accomplish,
but others share their official
New Year's resolutions with us.
Steve says he has a simple resolution
to wake up each morning feeling blessed,
Alicia says, decluttering the house.
Karen says her resolution is to
focus on expanding curiosities.
An interest by reading more
and activating her chakras.
Irene says she's working on
getting healthy and saving more,
and Mark's resolution is to
be here this time next year.
New Year's resolutions are in a new concept,
and if you make them, you've probably
created some lists for years now.
But why? Doctor Andrew Farah,
a psychiatrist with Novant Health,
says this time of year inspires change.
People have always looked at
a new beginning, a new start,
and a new year is a time to,
you know, reflect and and improve
themselves in various ways.
You know, spiritually, physically,
artistically, so forth.
Don't know where to start, Blanca Cobb says.
It's actually involves looking back.
What worked? What didn't work?
What were your challenges?
What were your successes?
And then you can figure it out.
You just can't jump in and not
know where you're jumping.
That's why you have to reflect back and
figure out what were the challenges,
what was really hard,
what is it that you want to see differently,
and what is it that you're
willing to commit to,
to make sure you see those differences?
You start with with that premise that
if it's a resolution of something,
you need to change.
So where is that habit coming from?
You know what, what is it about?
You that makes you eat too much
sweets or drink too much caffeine.
You know whatever it is kind of go to that.
You know core basis of well how did
I get in this position to begin with
because a lot of people want to change
the symptom without changing the cause.
I think it's important to know where
the cause is coming from as opposed
to just ideas for improvement.
But are you making resolutions or new goals?
Doctor Ferris says there is a difference.
To note the difference between hey,
I need to change something bad versus.
I just want some improvement
in this area or a new skill.
You heard some of the resolutions,
but what are people hoping to
change about themselves this year?
According to a survey done by Statista,
there are Americans top New
Year's resolutions for 2023.
Here are the top ones.
52% of people surveyed say
they want to exercise more,
50% say they want to eat healthier,
40% want to lose weight and
39% want to save money.
And other resolutions include spending
more time with family and friends,
spending less time on social media.
Reducing work stress and
reduce living expense spending.
WFY News 2 talked to some
Greensboro kids this weekend about
their goals for the New Year.
This is what they have in store for 2023.
I wanna be a better person.
I'm working on my art to learn
how to cook. I wanna learn how
to roller skate in ice skate
freshes. So setting goals is something
pediatricians say is important
for children and the new year can
be the perfect time to start.
Doctor Steph Lee says resolutions
can help kids make good decisions,
build self-confidence and
improve troubleshooting skills.
Especially if they have trouble
with reaching their New Year's
resolutions, then you can help them
figure out how to adapt and persevere
in order to reach their goals.
Some resolution ideas from the American
Academy of Pediatrics for preschoolers,
cleaning up toys by putting them
where they belong or trying new foods,
especially different colors of
vegetables for kids 5 to 12,
drinking water every day,
and keeping soda and fruit
drinks only for special times.
Or trying to find a new physical
activity or sport and doing it
at least three times a week.
And for teens trying to get 8 to
10 hours of sleep and resisting
peer pressure to try cigarettes,
E cigarettes, drugs or alcohol.
So what about your goals for 2023?
While inflation in November was
lower than it was in previous months,
it's still high.
Many people are looking for a
financial fresh start in the new year.
More than 1/3 of Americans say they're in
a worse financial situation than last year,
but many expect things to get better.
Business analyst Jill Schlesinger
has advised for you setting up
your financial plans for 2023.
I feel like this is one of those
areas where technology has increased
our ability to reach our goals.
And here's why.
You can lay out that goal.
I wanna do better, but you can actually
automate so much of your savings.
And I think the most important
thing is to track your finances.
There's tons of online resources.
There's tons of apps that
allow you to do that.
You see how much money you
have available to put away,
then automatically put money in savings.
I like to call it the big three.
You #1 have an emergency
reserve fund with six to 12.
Months of your living expenses set
aside #2 you pay down high interest
debt to the best of your ability,
and I know that that's really
hard for a lot of people,
but tackle it and it will get done.
#3 you put as much money as you
possibly can into a retirement plan.
If you can get those big three
accomplished and automate
them as much as possible,
you'll be far better off.
When it comes to making your
resolution or goal, doctor Farris
says there are steps you can take to
help make sure it gets accomplished.
The first rule of thumb
is to be very realistic.
You know, I have a list of things
that I know I can get done today
and I have a wish list of things
that I would like to get done.
And I think a lot of people overreach
and they put down things that are
just not going to be realistic as
far as getting them accomplished as
on a timetable that they would like.
I think the second thing is to go
ahead and write down your goals,
you know, and go ahead and put it
in a calendar and put milestones
in there so that you can have
points of accomplishment.
It's also important to involve somebody else.
Sometimes you and your partner
want to lose weight together
or go to the gym together.
You might get a trainer,
but if there's any form of commitment,
whether it's commitment to another
person or a financial commitment,
people are much more likely
to accomplish those goals.
And at the end of the day,
you're not going to be perfect.
Doctor Farris says.
That's OK and part of the process.
The trick is that the problem with
the resolution is that many people
don't build in the concept of failure.
You know, when was the last time you
set out to achieve something and
just went from start to finish and
got it done without a single hitch,
without a break, without time off.
And so we have to understand we're
human and it fits and starts and and
setbacks are just part of the process.
Particularly, you know who really
goes to the gym every day, right?
Who really goes three times?
Who can accomplish that?
Real life gets in the way.
That's why it's all the more
important to carve out time and
space and accomplish these things.
And if you do get off track, that's
not the end of your journey either.
If you have a setback,
it's not the end of the world.
You kind of figure out,
OK, I didn't do whatever
I committed to today.
Why did I not?
And what can I do tomorrow
to make sure that I do?
Good luck reaching your goal.