With the start of a New Year comes the perfect time to start fresh, to make changes and be hopeful for the year to come. As is the case every year, it is time to make resolutions and establish new routines that can help you grow as a person. Have trouble sticking to your resolution? You’re in good company. Research shows that only 8% of people who have made a New Year’s resolution were able to meet their goal, according to a study from the University of Scranton. It seems that each year we have trouble sticking to the resolutions that we made. When thinking about what resolution you’d like to work towards it’s important to choose a doable and meaningful goal to set yourself up for success in the New Year.
Secrets of Success - Start with Simple Goals
While it might be tempting to write a long list of all of the resolutions you want to work towards, it is more beneficial and achievable to stick to one goal at a time. The trick to making resolutions is to start small - microscopic goals that you can accomplish as you work towards a greater objective. It may feel like you are selling yourself short, but if you truly make an easy goal to start with; your self-worth will increase when you smash the goal and it will be easier to proceed to bigger challenges you want to work towards.
Don’t Wait Until Last Minute
If you are serious about setting and sticking to a goal during the new year, it might not be a bad idea to start working towards it as soon as you can. Planning is a crucial part of any goal. Before you set your sights on the end goal, you should spend some time thinking about how you’re going to tackle this new challenge. If you start working towards a goal without any plan in place, you may be setting yourself up for failure. Sit down, take some time and think about how you want to achieve your goal, as well as difficulties you may face when working towards it. By preparing ahead of time, you will be better suited to accomplish your goal as well as deal with obstacles as they arise.
Some Ideas
As you accomplish your smaller goals, it’s time to get specific. By setting clear-cut objectives, it will infinitely be easier on yourself to achieve them and increase your self-esteem. Here are some ideas to help you set definitive goals.
Instead of:
Lose weight/get healthy
Exercise more
Get organized
Learn a new skill/hobby
Read more
Be kinder
See friends/family more
Try:
Eat two servings of vegetables per day
Increase your daily steps by 5,000
Sort your junk drawer that you’ve been putting off
Join a class that will teach you something you’re interested in learning
Get a library card, read one new book a month
Volunteer at a food pantry monthly
Make plans to grab dinner with a friend you haven’t seen in a while
See the difference? It is nearly impossible to achieve a vague goal; but when making a specific, measurable resolution that isn’t too out of your norm to work towards, you set yourself up for success.
Make Changes Every Year - Avoid Past Failures
Don’t make the same resolution year after year if you’ve struggled to achieve it in the past. If you think you can achieve it, you may be able to, but if you’ve failed in the past it may lessen your positivity and make it harder to reach. If you’re determined to achieve this resolution this year take some time to evaluate your previous attempts. In what ways did you struggle? What obstacles held you up from working towards it? Once you have a better game plan in place it may be easier to achieve this time around.
Get Support
As you start the year working towards these new goals include your friends and family in your journey. Having a solid support system can really help motivate you. Explain your goals to your close family members and friends, and they can help you stay on track. If you are able to find one, you could even join a group of like-minded individuals that are working toward the same goals as you, whether it be an online forum or in-person group.
We hope these tips motivate you to follow through with your resolution and make 2020 the best year yet!
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