5 tips To Help You Keep your New Years Resolutions!
I’m a new years resolution person. Not everyone likes them, I think sometimes because they are broken easily, sometimes because people don’t like the idea of always picking this random January 1 date as the start of new things to come, and maybe some people are just mad that their gym becomes so busy from the 1st to the 15th.
But I love the new year, as it is a reminder to me that we can always start over, try again, and make goals for ourselves. There’s always some place new you can explore, a relationship to mend (or end) a new hobby to try or a way to challenge yourself.
We know it’s easy to make resolutions, and less easy to keep them. Here are a few tips on how get those resolutions to stick.
Remember both the big picture AND the small details, but be flexible on the details. If you don’t allow for some flexibility, your big picture vision will not be achieved either. Since we are people. not robots, sometimes we have an off day. If you are trying to eat healthier and had ice cream for lunch a couple days in a row, don’t drown yourself in sorrows with a third bowl of ice cream tomorrow. Have a couple extra healthy days to balance it out. Don’t give up!
Write it down. A planner or notebook to store written goals can help you to keep your goals in mind. When we write things down, read them, and remember them, we are more likely to be doing actions in accordance with our goals.
Consider how your resolution (s) tie into a word of the year. Some people choose a word of the year to focus on rather than a specific goal, or perhaps a word can help you stay focused on your overall goal. Perhaps your word is “rest,” or “content” or “faith” or “gratitude.” You can easily ask yourself if your thoughts and actions are in alignment with your word of the year.
Make sure you’re resolution (s) are reasonable to begin with. If they weren’t, it’s okay to adapt rather than completely overwhelm yourself with an overly ambitious goal. It’s great to reach big, but sustainability with resolutions often has to do more with small, but significant life changes.
Find a trusted accountability partner or group. For instance, this could be a therapist, friend, online support group, or family member. Finding people with similar goals can make a big difference! And don’t pay too much attention to the naysayers, you’ll always find them!
Believe you can do it, follow through, don’t be afraid to adapt as needed.
