Tips to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
New Year’s resolutions tend to commence full of enthusiasm and motivation but much sooner than we hope they often fade away. If you want to make 2022 the year you stick to your resolutions, then here are my top tips.
Don’t Worry If You Break It
They might be called New Year’s resolutions but really the resolutions part is the most relevant. If you break your resolution that doesn’t have to the end of it. Pick it up again and keep going. Don’t let one minor blip get in the way of your goal.
Remember; the number of times that you drop it is nowhere near as important as the number of times that you complete it.
Write Them Down
At the beginning of January when hopefully you are feeling energised and motivated to start your resolutions, write them down on a piece of paper. Try to make them as specific as you can. For example, instead of writing read more, perhaps detail reading two chapters a day. This way when you find yourself feeling a bit uninspired you are more likely to push yourself as the goals seem more achievable. Leaving the page that you have written your resolutions in a visible place should also help you to keep it up.
Be Realistic
Often the reason people are unable to stick to their resolutions are because they are too unrealistic for that individual. If your new resolution is to improve your fitness, then going from one irregular walk every week or two to running 5ks every morning is simply not going to work. By setting your targets too high there is a greater chance that you will become demoralised and give up. Set realistic and consistent targets will work out much better in the long run.
Be Specific In Your Goal Setting
If your resolutions are incredibly specific, then consider coming up with similar alternatives just in case. Perhaps you decided to go for daily walks, but the January weather is putting a damper on your plans. Consider having some back-up YouTube fitness videos that you can try out. Just because you are not doing exactly as you intended it does not mean that it is not worthwhile and still helping you to achieve your goal.
Share Your Goals
Often the motivation we get from other people is greater than that which we can give ourselves. If you feel comfortable let friends or family know your resolutions. This way they can help to encourage you to complete them. You never know, they might even join in!
Just be careful that the people you tell aren’t going to put pressure on you as this will have the opposite effect.
Try Something New
New Year’s resolutions are a great way to try something new and actually keep it up. However, if you’re choosing your resolutions because other people are or because there is something that you wish to drastically change about yourself, pause and have a think.
Don’t Set Yourself Up To Fail
Unless you choose your resolutions for the right reasons then they won’t last, so be careful when you are choosing them and remember that they can be as unique as you wish and that you can have as many or as few of them as you would like.
Often people can become discouraged and give up on their resolutions if they don’t feel anything has happened or they don’t receive the instant results they might have hoped for. With most of the typical resolutions consistency is key. Stick to your resolutions for the long run and you will be glad you did.