You know the drill. You’ve been through it for years now. By December, your list of things you want to do to improve your life in the new year is endless. But come January, you fall short and fail to complete your goal for one reason or another. By February, you don’t even remember what you were trying to accomplish in the first place. Not this year. Here are five things you can do to stick to your new year’s resolutions.
1. Make attainable resolutions
In the wake of a new year with seemingly endless opportunities to improve your life, it’s tempting to make grandiose resolutions. But grandiose is not always realistic or achievable, especially for busy students and the working adult. Smaller goals such as trying to have better posture or trying to eat better are less likely to overwhelm you and cause you to quit than if you made a resolution to never eat junk food again.
2. Break them into baby steps
Someone who drinks one cup of water a day isn’t going to be able to suddenly drink eight cups. Create milestones as part of your bigger resolutions so that you don’t become frustrated by your (human) inability to be perfect the moment January first hits. Having milestones also means you can celebrate each step instead of just the end result. Multiple celebrations are better than one!
3. Don’t give up
Lots of people give up the moment they lose sight of their resolutions. But don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t achieve what you wanted to. Did you get halfway? One-third of the way? Great! Improvement is still succeeding and is way better than doing nothing at all. Plus, a little bump doesn’t mean you can’t continue trying!
4. Do it with a buddy
Just like having a workout partner is helpful, having a resolution buddy can help keep you on track. A resolution buddy will hold you accountable, and the task of holding them accountable as well will keep your mission fresh in your mind.
5. Make your resolutions into decoration
Put down your resolutions in writing and stick them somewhere you can see them often. One fun way to do this is to turn your resolutions into cute DIY artwork that you can hang on your wall. This way you’ll be motivated by its cuteness and will actually want to look at it.
Whether it’s to be kinder to yourself or to give back to the community more, have courage and be resilient. It’s a new year, anything is possible!