It was recently reported that 45% of all Americans still makeNew Year resolutions but many people now call them goals. If you are luckyenough, many of your patients will make resolutions and with the re-new commitmentto change you can be there for them to help them make those changes. Helping patients with their resolution forgoals can help you reach the medical goals you have set for your patients.
In my blog New year, new you, I talk about why we makeresolutions for the new year. For patients who deal with chronic illness the NewYear offers a chance to start again to get their illness under control. As it becomes increasingly clear to patientsthat we have a finite amount of time and we need to make the most out of it. Likemany of Americans, the most popular resolutions are to lose weight andexercising more.
Help them set goals
The first step is setting health goals that are realistic and obtainable, choose one to two goals Having too many goals can make it hard to keep track of them, and to focus your energy. Once you set two to three goals, break them into smaller steps that will be easier to do on a weekly and daily increments. Losing weight, you want to make sure to do it the right way and make your focus to become healthy. Small changes can add up and make a big difference, so start small with changes you know you can stick with.
Inactivity is the new smoking, not being active can lead to shorter life expectancy. Don’t forget to exercise as it is one of the best things you can do to keep you healthy. There are many apps for your smart phone that you can use. There are also apps that can help you exercise such as the 7-minute workout. Whatever your goals, the most important thing is to get started.
Help your patients focus their goals into realistic and obtainable goals. Help them by making them accountable to follow though with their goals by checking progress at every visit. Use motivational interviewing to help them keep motivated and help them celebrate achieving small goals.
Often as Health professionals, we point out what is wrong but fail to notice and celebrate small achievements. Help patients problem solve obstacles by brainstorming how they can get their goals done. Help by giving concrete samples of how they could get a goal done but let them choose their own solution to try.
