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Change Your Life

Keep your New Year's resolutions with help from Duke experts

Making a New Year's resolution whether it's a pledge to lose weight, stick to a budget, quit smoking or go back to school is an annual custom that often is honored more in the breach than in the observance.

 

But this year, you might want to try some new tactics, with an assist from Duke. The university is home to many experts who are familiar with the latest thinking from health care and fitness to smoking cessation or personal finance. Here's a sampling of their tips on how to make and keep your New Year's resolutions for 2008.

 

"Acknowledge it's a challenge," says Dr. Jeffrey Brantley, a mindfulness expert at Duke's Center for Integrative Medicine. The center offers conventional and alternative therapies as well as classes on topics such as mindfulness, meditation, yoga and nutrition.

 

Brantley knows from his own experience with gym memberships how difficult it can be to stick to a New Year's resolution.

 

"I'd go a few months at a time and be pretty faithful, and then my schedule would change," Brantley says. But rather than beat himself up about it, he came up with a more realistic plan: He now works out a few days a week at home.

 

Brantley says the "inner stories" we tell ourselves can also make or break our resolve.

 

"If a person had a story going [in their mind] that they weren't really worthy or attractive, they are kind of already telling themselves it's not going to work," Brantley says. "It works better when your starting point is, ‘I care about myself.'"

 

Setting realistic goals makes major changes more doable, says Julie Kosey, a psychotherapist at the Center for Integrative Medicine.

 

"Underpromise and overdeliver," Kosey says, "to really set yourself up for success."

 

 

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Dieting

 

It's also important to eliminate "all or nothing" thinking, says Dr. Martin Binks, a psychologist and medical behavioralist at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center and co-author of The Duke Diet.

 

"You don't have to reach some heroic goal to see improvements in health," Binks says, noting that his patients achieve a better quality of life with as little as a 5 percent weight loss.

 

He also advises patients to have a back-up plan in place to avoid relapsing when stressful events do occur.

 

"We encourage people to set their ‘life as it is now' goal, and then the goal for when life gets in the way," Binks says.

 

For example, instead of throwing your exercise plan out the window when an unexpected project comes up, just scale back the number of workouts until the project is over.

 

 

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Quit Smoking

 

Remember that small steps still can take you toward your goal. For example, if you want to quit smoking, switch to lower nicotine brands first.

 

"We call it going ‘warm chicken,' rather than cold turkey," says Robert Shipley, director of Duke's Stop Smoking Clinic and author of Quit Smart.

 

Seeking professional help also can help. Doing so can drastically increase your chances of success, especially for smokers.

 

"Probably the most important tip is to seek treatment," says Jed Rose, director of Duke's Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research and co-creator of the nicotine patch.

 

He says newer, stronger drugs and combination therapies have improved treatment options.

 

 

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Spending

 

Of course, some holiday splurging involves credit cards rather than calories. January is a time when Scottie Dowdy, a financial counselor at Duke University Federal Credit Union, advises lots of folks about how to get out of a spending spiral.

 

"Have the mentality of being more in control of your money, as opposed to your money controlling you," Dowdy says. "Pay off credit cards with the lowest balance first, or those with the highest interest rate. The other key thing is to stop charging and start saving."

 

The Credit Union's website offers more tips, including articles such as "50 Ways to Save Money."

 

 

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Taking Courses

 

Self-improvement isn't always about shedding old habits; sometimes it means adding new skills. Continuing Studies at Duke offers personal enrichment and certification programs tailored to everyone from rising sixth-graders to retirees.

 

Spend more time with your spouse by taking a wine-tasting class together, says associate director E'Vonne Coleman-Cook, or enroll your kids in a summer science camp.

 

Maybe you'd like to trade in a corporate career for non-profit management.

 

"Most of our courses have no prerequisites. Feel free to pick up the phone and call any of the program staff to learn more about a course," Coleman-Cook says.

 

No matter what your New Year's resolution, reminding yourself of the value of the goals you've set can help sustain your motivation for the long haul.

 

Adds psychotherapist Kosey, "Think about the ‘why.' How will that change support your values and make your life better?"