New Year’s resolutions are a good way to set mindful goals to better yourself and put expectations for what you want to achieve in the new year. Sometimes making a resolution can be as silly as limiting your intake of ice cream or as serious as taking a step forward and quit smoking. Either way, it is important that we can make and stick with our resolutions. To help you, we’ve got four suggestions to make 2023 the year everything clicked.
Align Resolutions With Habits
According to a blog by RescueTime, only 8% of people achieve their goal of keeping their New Year’s resolutions. In the blog, there are a few scientists who share how making small goals will lead to bigger results.
Your resolutions should align with what you can do, not what you can’t do.
It’s also important that you are able to do your resolutions within your schedule. Bottom line, make resolutions that can be built off of habits you already have. For instance, if you eat desert for dinner, then you can build off of that and trade the sweet stuff for a healthy smoothie.
Get Specific
In an article by SELF, Kelly Mickle and Amy Winderl tell the reader that getting specific with goals can make them more achievable thus leading to lots of celebrations as you achieve those goals. For example, instead of saying “I want to write everyday.” say, “I want to write one paragraph in the span of 5 minutes everyday.” or, “For 30 minutes everyday between 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM.” Then after you’ve achieved making that one paragraph, soak in the success with a sweet treat or that pen you’ve been eyeing.
Don’t Worry If You Miss a Day
Mickle and Winderl also make sure to reassure the reader that its okay if you miss a day! As long as you get back on track as soon as you fall behind, everything will be okay.
Rely on Yourself. And others.
Its a mixed bag. If you rely on others solely for your motivation, then you’re more likely to get off track, especially if you’re relying on them to wake up in the morning to join your morning workout. What if they’re sick or out on vacation? You’d fall behind real fast. So believe in yourself! Internal motivation is a stronger force than external motivation. We may have to flex it a little more in the beginning, but the more you can talk yourself into your morning run, the better and easier it is to talk yourself out of that fifth cookie. However, on the days you fall behind or just can’t believe in yourself, having that support system is a major boost. They can remind you of why you started, help you problem-solve, and encourage you.
Take Baby Steps
In verywellmind’s article, Kendra Cherry expresses that choosing a goal with thought is important when thinking about what you want to do in the new year. To achieve these goals, it would be a good idea to begin your journey with small steps to avoid past mistakes. Suppose that you want to lose weight. Instead of jumping into a workout routine everyday, choose to walk for 20 minutes on a special night. Once that routine is in place, add more time to your workout. This also lets you take your time learning habits or skills. It won’t help you to jump ahead only to stop because you’re frustrated. Doing this allows you to learn and do things better than before as you go along.
Remember, change is a process
that is forever changing.
With these helpful tips, you are set for a brand new year of success. Making and keeping these resolutions is hard but in the end, we are capable of achieving success when we break them down into small, specific steps and the support of our tribe.
