How To Stick To Your New Year’s Resolutions

Statistics say that more than half of New Year’s resolutions don’t make it. However, all you need to bring your goals to life is the right mindset.

A new year is a perfect time to start fresh and turn over a new leaf. However, changing poor habits and establishing new ones is not an easy endeavor. Resolutions are much easier said than done as growing as a person does not happen overnight. But, it is always worth the effort so let’s make sure you keep your resolutions this year. 

1. Common Mistakes When Setting New Year’s Goals

One study showed that only 12% of people who make New Year’s resolutions felt that they were successful. Here are some of the most common reasons why people fail to bring their goals to life.

Taking too much at once by making too many resolutions greatly increases the risk of burnout long before goals are achieved. No one said that you cannot add a new resolution before 2022 if you fulfill one goal ahead of time.

 

Often, people get so caught up in achieving a goal that they forget about why they had set it in the first place. This essence, the ‘why’, is the biggest source of motivation, so no wonder that goals without a ‘why’ end up being ditched.

As resolutions often focus on areas that we need to improve in, they are often focused on the negative such as giving up candy. This is counterproductive as it makes us only more focused on what we want to avoid. It is a much better strategy to focus on something that makes us feel good such as finding healthy dessert alternatives or finding ways to make exercise fun.

With the New Year’s euphoria in the air, it’s easy to set unrealistic goals or just goals that are impossible to quantify, which will both leave you feeling as if you failed regardless of what you do. Besides making your goals “smart”, meaning specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely, make sure that they are genuine. If your goal is merely a result of external pressure, it will be much harder to commit to it as it won’t bring you as much joy and satisfaction as the one that truly comes from you. 

2. Tips for Making and Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions

There are many strategies you can adopt to help yourself stick to your goals. The difference between success and failure is in choosing the right goal and the process to achieve it.

Prioritize

Choose a specific goal that is in line with your priorities to avoid any conflicts in your schedule. It’s best to start small, but not too small for the goal to still be challenging. Achieving even one small goal will boost your self-esteem and motivation to keep you going towards the big one.

Plan

Every good strategist knows that planning is key to achieving a goal. It helps us anticipate future problems and solve them in a timely manner when they do arise, helping us stay on track.

 Make a reward system

It is essential to treat yourself with small rewards when you achieve a milestone. Installing rewards along the way is a great source of encouragement as it gives you something to look forward to and helps you enjoy the journey.

 Learn from your failures

Learning and adapting is the key to achieving any goal. A failure is what causes many to give up but what they fail to see is that this is a learning opportunity to do even better next time. Remember, the path to achieving a goal is almost never a straight line so be kind to yourself. All it counts is to get up when you fall and make sure you don’t repeat the same mistake twice.

 Use your free will

Last but not least, we often forget that we have been given the power to choose. For example, if you live in a deregulated area, you even have the power to choose your own electricity provider. Researching providers with competitive rates is a great way to save money. Going further, you can choose to eat healthy food and to make quality sleep your priority so that you can feel more energized to fulfill your goals. As small as a decision might be, never forget that you have the power to choose as your day and consequently, your life, is a sum of every single decision you have made. Any decision can do only two things: lift you up or drain you so choose wisely. By becoming more aware, you will also feel more motivated to accomplish the goals you have set in the first place.

 Takeaway

The New Year feels like a new beginning, so it is a great opportunity to turn over a new leaf. Following the above advice is a great way to ensure you won’t bite off

more than you can chew and use this time as a precious opportunity to strengthen your willpower and create an even better life for yourself. Honoring your New Year’s resolutions will take time and effort, but in the end, it will all be worth it. Remember, this is not a race. The end goal is not all that matters, it’s the journey that will help you integrate a positive change that will last a lifetime.