How To Set New Year’s Resolutions And Actually Stick To Them

The beginning of, not just a new year, but a new decade is looming.  At the beginning of each year, we all start out the year strong with overambitious resolutions to hit the gym more and learn a new skill. More times than not, by the time February rolls around we’re back at square one and wondering why we didn’t we follow through with our goals. Avoid dooming your resolutions for failure with some of our of foolproof tips:

Be Realistic When Choosing Your Resolutions

When you’re contemplating what resolutions you are going to pursue in the new year, don’t embrace delusions of grandeur. Meet yourself where you are currently. If one of your goals is to spend less money eating out when you currently do so every day, recognize that quitting cold turkey will most likely set you up for failure. 

A part of being realistic when setting resolutions is reminding yourself that sometimes you need to start slow in order to make any real progress. Essentially, you are less likely to follow through with your resolutions if they are far-fetched. Ambitious goals are great, but if you want to actually follow through with them, ditch the unrealistic and elaborate ones; resolutions without a sensible scope will be forgotten by the time January is over.

Have A Concise Plan

Resolutions are absolutely pointless if you don’t concoct a game plan that will allow you to follow through. Your plan needs to be realistic, like the resolution itself, and should have a set time frame of when it needs to be completed. Additionally, make sure that your plan is clear and concise. Try writing a numbered list or a step by step guide for your resolutions

For example, if you want to exercise more in the new year then you need to think about what kind of exercise you would enjoy. Then, put together a consistent schedule of when you’ll work out and make sure you have the proper work out attire and equipment.

Again, setting resolutions that you can actually follow through on are all about being realistic. Make sure your plan is something you can actually see yourself executing. Don’t set up a plan that consists of running five miles every day for a month if you haven’t ran since high school P.E class.

Set Check Points and Measure Your Progress

Once you’ve given yourself a reality check and put together a manageable plan to tackle your resolutions, increase your chances of accomplishing them by periodically measuring your progress and holding yourself accountable.

At the end of every week, you should reflect on how committed you were to your resolution. Did you make an effort each day to reach your goal? Did you actually stick to your plan? Was it effective? Doing this or creating a similar type of accountability system will allow you to evaluate yourself. It will also increase the likelihood that you’ll make efficient strides to complete your resolution.

Holding yourself accountable is a great way to ensure that you will follow through with your resolutions, but be careful that you do so in a manner that doesn’t infringe on your mental health. Don’t punish or be harsh on yourself for falling short at times; simply acknowledge that you are capable of doing better and move on.

Individualize Your Resolutions

With social media influencers, celebrities, YouTubers, and TikTok stars constantly posting about their fabulous lives, it’s incredibly tempting to get distracted from the whole purpose of New Year’s resolutions: bettering yourself. You are less likely to reach your goals if they aren’t personal and individualized for your lifestyle.

It’s imperative that your motives reflect what you truly want for yourself. Don’t allow your resolutions to be influenced by some celebrity whose only job is to make their life look ten times more fabulous than yours or whatever is trending on Twitter.

The same can be said for people present in your everyday life. Don’t piggyback off the goals of your friends or family. Make changes or improvements to your life because you want or need to; having the mindset that what you are doing is purely for yourself will increase your level of commitment and ability to persevere.

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Don’t Compare Your Goals And Progress

Similarly to the last point, in order to follow through with your resolutions, you need to avoid comparing your journey to other people’s. Playing the game of comparison has the tendency to kill your motivation and make you feel as if your goal is unattainable. Once you get to that place, it’s easy to give up because what’s the point of chasing an unreachable destination?

Instead of feeling as though you don’t measure up to others, hone in on your own emotions and self-worth. Work on accepting that your version of success will differ from others and embrace the ups and downs that accompany bettering yourself.

Don’t Let A Setback Become Your Downfall

There isn’t a way to set up a plan impervious to failure. It is likely that at some point you will ease up and lose sight of your resolution. Apprehension of the idea that falling short may occur is essential while you’re choosing resolutions and putting together your game plan. Getting a little (or a lot) off track is not a reason to give up. If you realize you’ve gotten sidetracked and haven’t been making good progress, allow that to fuel your ambition in order to try again.

Allow setbacks to force you to reevaluate why your initial plan didn’t pan out. Perhaps your original approach was too intense and you should try easing yourself back into it. While you shouldn’t set resolutions with the expectation of getting distracted from them, realize that it can tend to be part of the process for many people.

However you choose to usher in the new decade, be patient with yourself. Resolutions are all about improving your quality of life; there’s no better way to do that than by treating yourself with kindness.

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