We’re well into 2025, and the New Year’s celebrations are behind us—along with many resolutions, like getting in shape, eating healthier or spending more time connecting with ourselves. Even with the best of intentions, it’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day life and let those goals go to the wayside.

Whatever goals or resolutions you set for yourself way back in January, I am excited for you. I am excited because we’re all trying to better ourselves, and even though things perhaps haven’t worked out the way we wanted them to, I know this time it can be different.

If you’re trying to build a new workout habit or change the number on the scale this year, I salute you. Setting a goal to change a behavior is very commendable. But to give ourselves the best chance of accomplishing our goal, we must combine the goal with some self-reflection and self-awareness.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as we creep into spring of 2025:

What’s different this time?

And by the way, I’m proud of you for starting again. But what’s different about this attempt?

If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. If you pick the same strategy that you tried (unsuccessfully) in the past, the end result will be the same: another lost year of “why can’t I get my act together?”

Instead of jumping into another fad diet, swearing off sugar forever or committing to a triathlon—especially if these approaches haven’t worked for you in the past— consider a more sustainable strategy. Something has to be different this time.

• Make fewer changes.
• Pick one goal and focus on it.
• Pick a different workout routine.
• Pick a different diet or nutrition change.
• Pick a different time of day to work out.
• Recruit a friend to join you so you’re not doing it alone.
• Make your new desired behavior beneficial or necessary.

Prove to yourself you’ve learned something from your past attempt. Don’t let past failures be in vain—they showed you what doesn’t work.

What are you afraid of?

You’re full of momentum right now, and that’s great. But as we know, life will happen, and something might go wrong. What has been your tendency when this happens in the past?

Before I coach someone, I ask every single client, “What are you most nervous about?” That answer is something they’re aware of as a result of their past attempts.

“Are you going to get busy and decide to take a break until things slow down?”

Now you know when that little voice in your head says this, you can prepare for it, plan to do something differently and decide that you don’t have to listen to it.

“Are you going to have one bad day and go totally off the rails?”

Now you know that when you have one bad day, you can forgive yourself, not look back in anger or guilt and get right back on track.

“Are you going to give up even though you really want to push through?”

This happens to all of us when motivation wanes after a few weeks. Consider guarding against your weaknesses or making a bet with a friend to keep you accountable.

We all set out to change. Even when we’re self-aware, our goals and hopes often exceed the reality that we’re fallible, busy humans living unpredictable lives. And that’s okay.

If we acknowledge these factors and approach things differently, even if the next attempt doesn’t succeed, we can learn from it, eliminate that strategy as a viable option and move forward with a new approach. That’s all life is anyway: try, fail, adjust and restart.

If you don’t have a Western Growers Assurance Trust (WGAT) plan, which includes a care management program and the added option of a Wellness Program, contact us to see how we can help you better manage your health care costs at (800) 333-4942.