It’s nearly February, and you’ve already broken your New Year’s resolution. Your roommate brought home Krispy Kreme, and you just couldn’t resist. You know you said you would cut out junk food, but everybody needs a cheat day, right? Or maybe you told yourself you would wake up earlier this year to get a head start on your day, and be more productive. But then you hit snooze for the third time in a row with your eyes half open and your resolution out the window.
You may feel like you’ve failed yourself. You just can’t keep up with the resolution you claimed less than a month ago. You’re telling yourself you might as well try again next year.
Well, I’m here to act as the tiny angel on your shoulder, whispering cliche, inspirational quotes like “don’t give up” and “you can do it” into your ear. I’m trying my best to drown out the red guy on your other shoulder who is telling you to ditch the resolution and pursue the habits you desperately want to break.
Who said New Year’s resolutions aren’t a long-term process? I thought you had an entire year to accomplish them. That’s 12 months, 52 weeks, and 365 days (366 in 2020 – a whole extra day!). It doesn’t matter if you slipped up a few times within the first month. Slipping up and cheating are all part of breaking old habits.
My advice for sticking to your resolution is threefold. First, it’s important to look back on how you have handled your resolution so far. Reflect. Maybe get a cute, floral journal from Barnes and Noble with an inspirational quote written in cursive on the cover. Or maybe you’re more into moleskine journals. Whatever floats your boat. Put on a pair of critical lenses and understand why your resolution is slightly more challenging than you had anticipated. Dig deep. Get personal. Why did you keep hitting snooze? Putting your reflections on paper can help you understand where changes can be made in the upcoming months. Set short-term and long-term goals. What do you want to accomplish next week? Next month?
Next, I advise you not to be afraid to refine your resolution. We, as humans, are ever-changing beings, so it’s perfectly okay if our resolutions are too. We are constantly in a cycle of learning and experiencing, and while we’re out and about in the world, we’re getting to know ourselves a little bit better. You’ve learned you don’t like being in big crowds. You don’t like horror movies. You prefer tea over coffee. You know yourself better than anyone else does.
Take my own resolution, for example. I woke up January 1st, wide eyed and ready to put my resolution into action. I told myself I would read for at least one hour before going to bed each night. Yet, as the days went by, I was reading less and less. Some nights for only 20 minutes and some nights not at all. I kept promising myself I would make up for the lost time over the weekend when I had more time, but you and I both know that wasn’t true. I made the decision to alter my resolution. Instead of putting unnecessary pressure of reading for a whole hour each and every day, I took away the time goal. Not only that, but I also took away the pressure of reading every day. Now my resolution is much simpler. Read more books. That’s it. There’s no large number of books to complete by December 31st (aside from a must-read list ripped from my polka-dot journal and sloppily shoved back into said journal). Without the extra pressure I put on myself, I’m more willing to pick up a novel and sift through a hundred pages in one sitting.
Finally, be patient. Change doesn’t happen at the snap of your fingers. There’s still 11 more months of 2020, so why give up now?