How To Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
Have you made a New Year’s resolution? It’s traditional but most who say they have don’t really mean it. But the start of a new year when we all celebrate rebirth and renewal forces a person to look ahead and think about making lifestyle changes. It takes character and backbone when the changes are massive. Along with persistence, it will take tenacity and sheer mental hard work but the rewards and sense of achievement will surely be overwhelming by this time next year.
If you want to make serious changes, here’s how to give yourself a good fighting chance of keeping your New Year’s resolution.
Keep It Simple
Not setting a realistic goal is one big reason why so many people end up not keeping their New Year’s resolutions. If your aim is to overhaul your entire lifestyle this year, you will certainly have to deal with disappointment and guilt. It may sound like a good resolution at this time of the year because all you’re thinking about is self-improvement going into the New Year. But you have to understand that you just can’t achieve these things at once. To be successful, you need to work on keeping things simple and focusing clearly on a couple of your most important goals only.
Work Towards Your Goal – Gradually!
By breaking your resolutions into more manageable chunks, you can plan for success better. By being clear on what you want to achieve, such as saving $50 each month or losing 2 pounds each week, it is easier to deal with logistics or re-planning your schedule or setting new healthy living routines.
Set A Time Frame And Keep A Record
Setting a time frame acts as a great motivation. It will serve as a benchmark or barometer to measure your success. Reviewing short-term progress regularly is immensely important. It will lay the foundations for achieving big in the end.
It is also a good idea to record the details of your progress as you go, especially the things that tempt you to relapse. For example, keep a workout diary. Identifying triggers makes them easier to avoid. Including whatever it is that motivates you keeps you pushing ahead.
Don’t Repeat Past Failures
Many people make the same resolution each year and every year they fail. If this is you, then chances are you are making the same mistake over again. It happens. Think of trying a completely different approach. Stepping out of your comfort zone can help you focus and redouble your efforts. Most people struggle to make changes alone and statistics gathered by experts proves it. They clearly show that most people who want to quit smoking or drinking or lose weight and join clubs and groups to do it, tend to enjoy greater success and make lasting changes.
Be Ready To Re-Frame Your Resolutions
So many times, you’re so occupied with the thought of keeping your resolution that you forget to enjoy life as it comes. Understand that it is important to keep your resolution but don’t allow it to put you down. Your resolution shouldn’t tell you that you’re not good until you achieve your goal. It is only going to de-motivate you and make it even difficult to achieve your goal.
Therefore, it is important to be flexible and willing to re-frame it by making yourself believe that you’ve always been enough but you want to be “more” by achieving your resolution. The change in perspective will surely help you be in a position to push your preconceived limits effectively.
Get All The Support You Can
One great way to stay motivated is to go public about your resolutions. It makes it difficult for you to stop making an effort when you’ve been very vocal about it. Sharing your experience and journey with your friends and family makes it much easier to keep your resolutions when you have someone to hear about your struggles and celebrate your successes.
Telling the right people about your resolution will also help you get the right kind of support. They will stand behind you and even help you overcome obstacles in situations when you feel you can’t do it yourself.
If you are trying to break a bad habit or get healthy working with a psychologist or a healthcare provider will significantly increase your chances of sticking to your resolution. They have the expertise and most effective techniques to help you achieve what you want safely.
Be Prepared To Renew Your Motivation
During the first few weeks after making a New Year’s resolution, you will naturally be more confident and perhaps even passionate about reaching your goal. However, research shows that drive starts to disappear mid January. That’s when you need to be ready to look for renewed motivation. Accept there will be highs and lows from the start. Habits are easy to pick up but hard to break. Stay positive and stick to your plan and have a treat ready planned to give your self-confidence a boost.
Don’t Focus Too Much On The End Result
Yes, it’s important to remind you of what you will eventually get if you manage to keep your resolution, but it will get boring after a while, making it difficult to get there in the first place. You should teach yourself to enjoy the journey. It means you can achieve success if you decide to commit to the process instead of just committing to a goal. By committing to the journey, you will make it an enjoyable experience and increase your chances considerably to get what you want.
Conclusion
Don’t be afraid to show the world how you are getting proactive about what you want to achieve. Sometimes, to keep a resolution, you have to get target driven and practical. Many people let their resolution drift and Valentine’s Day it’s just a distant memory. Set your time limit, break down your steps and find buddies to help you do it and next year you can pass on the tips of your success.
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