5 Tips for Sticking With Your New Year’s Resolutions
Photo by Cristian Escobar on Unsplash
There’s something incredibly inspiring about the end of the year. It’s an opportunity to self-reflect on the previous year and to set intentions for the year to come. Personal growth and goal setting are vital to me, and while I am a firm believer it should happen all year, there’s just something motivating about setting New Year’s Resolutions.
Before we get into the details about how to stick with your New Year’s Resolutions, let’s start with the fundamentals. People can be drawn to drastic, life-altering changes at the end of the year. They decide to suddenly eat exclusively healthy, go to the gym every single day, or save every single extra dollar. This all-or-nothing approach comes from the best of intentions, but it isn't always easy to maintain. While setting goals, remember to keep your goals realistic, be kind with where you are, and remember that things take time. Some days will go easier than others, so be kind to yourself if you need some time off, and simply get back to your goals when you can.
These 5 tips for sticking with your New Year’s Resolutions will help you throughout the year, but I want you to remember one important thing: this is not a race. Take your time, stay consistent, and believe in yourself. A New Year’s Resolution isn’t meant to be accomplished immediately. Give yourself time and love.
5 Tips for Sticking With Your New Year’s Resolutions
1. MAKE SMALL, REALISTIC, PERSONAL GOALS
To keep your goals manageable, focus on creating small, realistic, and personal goals. Expecting yourself to completely change your life entirely overnight will likely get discouraging and set you up for failure. Evaluate where you are now and give yourself time to get into the swing of things. Additionally, make sure your goals are personal to you - do not concern yourself with what others are doing. What’s working for one person may not work for another.
2. WRITE THEM DOWN
I always find that writing down my goals helps to affirm them. Find somewhere you can look at it regularly and write down your goals and why you want to achieve them. Be clear and specific while doing this, with clear indicators of how you’ll know when you’ve achieved it.
3. CREATE A PLAN
Creating a plan helps to get your goals in motion. Make a framework for yourself by using your calendar to outline dates to accomplish things by or times you can allocate to work on your goals. This isn’t to say that you need to keep things structured and well organized the entire time, but it can be very beneficial to have some sort of overview for yourself. Don’t criticize yourself if things start to go off course - the plan is more to work towards.
4. TEAM UP WITH A FRIEND
Sometimes, having a buddy can help you stay accountable and help keep things fun. I enjoy walking with my neighbour because we are both dedicated to a common goal and laugh the entire time.
5. CELEBRATE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The fact that you want to make positive changes to your life isn’t something to be taken for granted, so make sure you feel proud of yourself and celebrate your wins along the way! It’s not always about reaching the final destination, it’s about enjoying the journey and celebrating how far you go.
You’ve got this!!