The new year is just around the corner and is the time when many of us set New Year’s Resolutions. Do you tend to start off the year with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm only to find your motivation waning by February? If this sounds familiar, your willpower may not be the real problem. It may be your choice of resolution, especially if you’re picking ones that can end in disappointment without a plan in place to lead to success. These six tips should help you create resolutions that you find a lot easier to keep!
Keep things simple…
Do you often come up with a fairly long list of resolutions? This could be a big part of the reason why you struggle to see them through. Spreading yourself too thin between different resolutions is one of the main reasons why people fail with New Year goals.
To increase your chances of success, don’t feel that you need to overhaul everything with your life in one go. Chances are, you’ll quickly get overwhelmed and feel frustrated that you’re not getting anywhere.
Make it a SMART Goal that’s not too big.
You’re more likely to succeed with New Year resolutions if you concentrate your efforts on just one or two areas and do them well. Pick just the one goal and make it SMART. Focusing on one goal that is attainable will set you up for success!
You’re less likely to have issues with your willpower if you’re more realistic with the goals you set yourself. Get that right and you’ll find it a lot easier to stick to resolutions!
Set bite size goals within your one resolution…
Working towards a big end goal can be daunting. When you first set a resolution, it can feel like you’re a million miles away from getting to the end result and you are more likely to give up altogether if you don’t have a plan and smaller steps to get there.
One way around this involves breaking down resolutions into mini goals that help you to see your progress more easily. Ideally, this will involve goals that can be measured.
A smaller goal is like taking steps.
If you’re planning to lose weight, set a target for how much weight you’ll aim to lose each week. Or if you’re aiming to up your intake of leafy green veggies, start with at least one serving for a certain number of days.
Once you’ve broken your goals down like this, make a point of checking in with yourself regularly to see how you’re doing with them. If you can see yourself making progress, there’s much more chance that you’ll keep working towards achieving the bigger picture. As you make progress, you may need to tweak your mini goals to help you get there.
Reward your progress…
You don’t need to wait until you get to the end goal to reward yourself. The great thing about mini goals is the opportunity to give yourself an incentive to keep going whenever you make progress towards the bigger resolution. Just make sure it’s not something that will ruin all your hard work. No sweet treats if you’re trying to be healthier or lose weight! Think of some fun things you can do to celebrate your progress.
Write it down…
Writing down your New Year resolutions and keeping them somewhere visible can keep you motivated and remind you of why you’re on the journey in the first place. You’ll feel more accountable to yourself and are more likely to be successful in keeping your New Year resolutions.
You can take this even further by journaling about your resolutions. By going deeper into how you’re doing with them, you can see if or how you may be self-sabotaging your goals … even without realizing that you are.
Use affirmations…
Affirmations are another powerful tool that can help you to stick to your New Year resolutions. Writing these down and repeating them every day is a great way to encourage your mind to embrace it as the truth.
Your affirmations don’t have to be complicated or profound. In fact, simple ones can work really well. Depending on your resolution, it may be along the lines of “I am calm under pressure” (if you’re resolved to stress less) or “I eat a healthy diet” (if better nutrition is your goal). Whatever you choose to say to yourself, it’s super important to make it a habit.
Accept that slip ups happen…
Resolutions are a challenge to keep and most people will have setbacks. Let’s face it, it’s not realistic to think that it’s all going to be smooth sailing when you’re making big changes to your lifestyle. If you encounter a setback on your journey, it’s not a sign that you’re failing or that you should give up on your goals.
How you handle setbacks is super important when it comes to keeping New Year resolutions. Want to make sure that you can channel it in the right way? Take some time to think about what might have triggered the setbacks and learn from it for the future.
Know that you are amazing! Every one of us is on a wellness journey and every one of us will struggle at some point to reach our goals. You only need to believe that you will reach your goals one step at a time! Here’s to your wellness! ~Amy