New Year, New Parenting Goals by Jodee Marques

I love the New Year, so fresh and full of promise. The magic of the calendar clicking over, a chance to start again with new goals.

Most of us like to hope that the coming year will be better than the last and after the past few years, who can blame us? What I’m not a fan of is New Year’s Resolutions that are made with the best intentions in mind but get lost and dusty by January 23rd (put your hand up if you are guilty of this!)

Setting the goal to change is not the issue, it’s admirable, however, it’s important to understand that real long-lasting change requires more than desire or intention set on the last day of the year.

Whether your family goal is to get healthier, travel more, change careers, or have more quality time with the kids, the below will assist you to create a sustainable plan that will set you up for success in 2023!

• Get clear about your why! Ambiguous goals are more likely to fail, having a clear “why” will provide future motivation which you are going to need when the body & brain try to flick back into unconscious patterns of behaviour.

• Visualise the future version of you having achieved your target, feel it, hear it, taste it. Create a daily routine where you spend 5 minutes a day leaning into the ‘future you’ that has already achieved your goal. Neuroscience proves that you have a better chance of creating change if you regularly visualise and mentally rehearse your desired outcome (not spending time worrying about failure) so claim success and know that it is done!

• Be realistic and keep it simple, it’s best to commit to one or two areas of change at a time, not overload the brain. You can build on success once a new desired outcome has become a habit.

 • Stay positive, mindset matters, and positive self-affirmation will help calm the part of your brain (the basal ganglia) which is responsible for storing habits, routines and automatic responses.

• Plan for success, it’s best to ensure you have sneakers ahead of time if you resolve to start walking with the kids every day in the new year!

 • Seek accountability from a family member who shares the same goal or that can give you a sanity check if you are going astray!

• Commit for a timeframe, it takes anywhere from 28 days to 254 days to change a habit, so accept that you are in it for a long time, not a good time and remember that it will be worth it in the end!

• Celebrate success! Managed to get to smash bedtime routine or stay calm with the kids for a full day? Consider that success and celebrate, as this will increase confidence and motivation to stay committed and do it again tomorrow!

Making change is hard, not because you are lazy or incapable, but because you have a brain that runs 95% off subconscious patterns of behaviour. To create sustainable change, we need to create new neuro pathways in the brain, so keep your inner critic in check and remember that working on yourself is the best investment that you will ever make.

Happy 2023! For more empowering information or to book a conscious parenting coaching session reach out to Jodee:  https://www.facebook.com/jodeemarqueshhwb