It’s the perfect time to review our resolutions. If you have not made any resolutions yet, below are many personal habits that you can improve easily — and often free. They are examples from the basics such as exercising more and living healthier to finding easier ways to save money.
1. Make one change at a time
Please remember your resolution does not need to start on the first day of the year and you can start your New Year resolution even though the first day of the year has passed. Focusing on one change at a time will help to keep resolution for a longer period. Take control of one habit, and then move on to another.
2. Make small changes
It is difficult to make a big change suddenly and it would be better to focus on small changes instead of one big goal. Let say if you want to save up money for your vacation, make a change on your spending and living habit. You can make your coffee or tea at home instead of buying beverages outside. Replacing your soda with water and you will also be surprised how quickly you save up your vacation fund by quitting smoking too. The little changes will add up and help you accomplish your bigger goal of saving money.
3. Write out your goals
Writing out your goals makes more of an impact than just thinking about them. It requires and extra step and will likely help you keep your eyes on the prize for a little longer.
4. Reward yourself
Setting up little rewards for meeting your goals or steps along the way will help you stay motivated. Think of a reward that helps you stay within reason and feel motivated to keep moving toward the prize. For example, treat yourself to watch a movie at a theatre if you have quit smoking for a week or get a new suitcase that you always wanted when your vacation fund have been saved up for a certain amount.
5. Don’t give up
In most of the times, making changes involves setbacks. Don’t give up on your goal. If you mess up your plan, think about the reasons you want to change. Get back on track and make it happen. You can also talk to experts to help you stay on your plan, for instance, quit coaches at ASQ is a free service for smokers to seek for advise on staying quit and to offer free patches to eligible smokers as well.
As the new year proceeds, keep checking in on the goals you’ve set for the year. You can tell someone else about your goals so they can help you along the way. Having a support group will add encouragement and motivation. As long as you don’t give up completely, you are able to achieve your goal in one day.
Asian Smoker Quitline (Asq):
ASQ is operated by the Asian Smokers’ Quitline (ASQ). ASQ provides FREE evidence-based smoking cessation services in Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese to Asian communities in the U.S. Studies have shown that smokers who enroll in ASQ services double their chances of quitting successfully.
We encourage Chinese-,Korean- and Vietnamese-speaking smokers to call ASQ if they want free help quitting smoking. Friends and family of smokers may also enroll to learn how to help smokers quit. Cessation advisors who speak Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese are ready to offer useful information. Smokers can receive a free two-week supply of nicotine patches while supplies last.
We encourage health care providers and community leaders to refer Chinese-, Korean- or Vietnamese-speaking smokers by visiting our website and selecting “Web Referral”. ASQ will provide cessation advice and free patches at no cost to your patients.
Visit www.asq-shop.org to order free promotional materials and fact sheets about smoking. Shipping is free.
Over 15,000 Asian language speakers from all 50 states have enrolled in ASQ services since 2012. ASQ is funded by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
ASQ is open Monday through Friday, 7am to 9pm Pacific Time (10am – Midnight Eastern Time).
To enroll, call or register online today!
• Mandarin & Cantonese 1-800-838-8917 www.asq-chinese.org
• Korean 1-800-556-5564 www.asq-korean.org
• Vietnamese 1-800-778-8440 www.asq-viet.org
To learn more about ASQ in English, visit: www.asiansmokersquitline.org.