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This post features 6 steps on how to stick to your New Year’s resolutions this year.
Remember that business you promised you’d start three years ago? Or how you swore you’d lose those fifteen pounds before mid-last year? How about that French course you promised you’d take but never did? Yup! We’ve all been there.
We all have meaningful aspirations and goals. Whether it’s that coveted promotion, learning a new skill or simply cutting off all the toxic friends in our lives, all of them mean something to us.
But the ones we make at the beginning of a new year just hit differently.
New Year’s resolutions are like the Riverdale of goal setting. We set them, and start out with obsessive enthusiasm and limitless energy…. Until the novelty wears off and reality (or very poor writing, in keeping with the analogy) sets in.
And then instead of three hours per day, you decide you can only spare an hour per day to start that business. It might take longer…but it gets the work done. And slowly you begin to defer and make excuses. Until those pretty little promises you made are all but forgotten, and you’re still in the same place you began. I’m speaking from experience here, and trust me, it’s not a good feeling.
If this sounds like you too, relax. Below I have listed some tips that can help you achieve those results and give you the best chance at achieving what you want.
Here is how to stick to your New Year’s Resolutions…
Ensure your goals are realistic:
We tend to overestimate what we are actually capable of achieving in a given period, and when we don’t; we use our perceived failure as an excuse to abandon our goals entirely. Now I can point out all the flaws in this logic, but the main reason why this happens is that the goal itself is fantastical.
When setting goals it’s important to be truly introspective and reasonable, especially about our capabilities.
If you work full time, have to take care of the kids and have classes; then you most likely won’t be able to go to the gym four times a week. The important thing here is being honest with yourself.
With realistic goals, you won’t feel the pressure of having to do the impossible, and will not be demotivated when you are unable to.
Remove bad influences
This is crucial to any goal you could ever possibly have.
Let’s say you decide to cut down on that drinking habit that is lowkey a problem. If every Friday after work you know your colleagues will visit that bar, and Dalton with the dreamy eyes will offer you that martini you won’t say no to; just don’t go!
Maybe instead of every Friday you went every two weeks, or once a month.
Your responsibility is to know what your priorities are and to make it easier for yourself to stay on track by removing temptations that could influence you to make counterproductive decisions.
Tell people
Accountability is arguably the most important element of goal realisation.
When you tell people, whether your gym rat boyfriend or your high-energy, high-achieving bestie, you’re statistically more likely to take the steps necessary to achieve that goal.
Who knows? You might even find someone who is also starting their journey, and then you can be that motivating force for each other and hold each other accountable.
You can even take this further (use this as a last resort only, we don’t endorse toxicity) and tell someone you don’t like about it.
You know Chelsea from accounting who’s always making comments about your hair, and your nails? Yeah, tell her too. This will serve as extra motivation on those days when you really don’t wanna do anything, but you just know she’s gonna say something.
Whether or not she does, is unimportant. Ultimately, you win because you get it done!
Set up reminder systems
Having reminder systems ultimately makes it easier for you to achieve what you want. Goals, especially the ones you have to work harder to achieve, are easily and conveniently forgotten.
When you have a reminder system (that Google Calendar event, or that curated schedule), it’s easier to hold yourself accountable, get things done, and allocate time to actually achieving them.
Have a detailed plan
It’s easy for us to imagine the end we’d like when we set our new year goals.
But as we begin the process and are faced with the amount of work required, we inevitably become disillusioned with our aspirations and eventually quit.
Having a detailed plan for your goal will ensure you don’t become overwhelmed by the task, and provide structure throughout the process.
Ask yourself, what obstacles are you likely to face? How are you gonna get around them? How much time will it take?
Break it up into small steps
Create small objectives that will eventually lead toward your bigger goal and you are likely to achieve it.
Where would you like to be in two weeks? How will you get there? By answering these questions you are making it easier on yourself to achieve these smaller goals, which eventually compounds to completing the larger one.
And there you have it! Six easy steps to help you on your way to achieving your goals this new year. Every year, billions around the world set lofty New Year’s resolutions, only to abandon them a few months later. With the help of these tips hopefully you won’t be one of them. All the best on your quest to better yourself this new year!
