The American tradition of a New Year’s resolution is one of the biggest motivators for people to switch up their daily routines and cut bad habits. But it’s no secret that following through on a promise to yourself can be difficult to maintain over time, especially when it involves less cake and more running. Here a couple tips you can use, to turn your resolution, into tradition.
First and Foremost; is your goal achievable and realistic?
Having a good idea or plan is worthless if you lack the resources or ability to even get started. And even if you start, will you be able follow through? It’s like setting a goal to grow wings and fly, the first step to actually changing something is having a realistic and attainable goal. Now at this point we’re almost a month after you created your resolution, so if now you’re looking at you idea to learn Mandarin Chinese and German simultaneously and it seems like no matter how hard you try it’s probably not going to happen, it’s probably not. There’s no shame in changing your goals so you can complete them, just don’t give up entirely.
Track your Progress
You won’t stay motivated for long if you lose hope. Not saying you don’t have the willpower to make it to the end, but any rational person would stop what they’re doing if they saw no results. Now this one depends on what your goal is, but let’s say your resolution is to lose weight (the most common). One good way to stay on the right track is to take pictures of your journey; have something to compare your current state to when you feel like you’re not going anywhere. Even keeping a journal would allow you to see your progress in real time and notice all the difference you’re making.
Give yourself a break
If there’s one thing that kills goals, is thinking the ‘end does not justify the means’. Don’t work yourself to the point where being healthier or living a better life isn’t worth the stress of getting there. Now I’m not saying this for you to use as an excuse to slowly stop working towards your goal, only take a step back and realize you’re a human and no reasonable person expects you to be perfect. Fit a day into your schedule that lets you relax, the point of a New Years resolution is to make it to the next year.
Hopefully these tips can help you see your New Year’s resolutions to their potential, for years to come