There’s a lot of pressure in January. It’s a new year, and you’re supposed to have better habits than last year. However, the truth is, January 1st is not the only day to start a new habit. You don’t have to wait for next year or even another month to start a habit. You can even start today!Â
Whatever your New Year resolution is, these are tips on following through and keeping yourself motivated:
- Know your “why”.
Whether you want to learn a new language, exercise more, save money, or anything else, you need to know why you actually want that habit. It needs to be a good enough reason to follow through with it. These reasons are personal to you and will be what keeps you motivated. And when motivation may not be there on some days, this reason will keep you disciplined and will maintain your habits.
- Set realistic goals.
You can’t expect to start something one day and have perfected it the next day. If your resolutions do not fit the life you currently have, maybe they need to be rethought. Instead of saying that you want to go to the gym every day of the week when you currently do not have time to go to the gym every day, say you are going to go once. Be realistic and set achievable goals. If they are unattainable, you will not be as motivated, and most people will give up entirely.Â
- Be specific.
Know exactly what you want and be specific in your goals. If your goal is to learn a new language, plan out how you will practice and know you can achieve your goal. Whether that is spending ten minutes learning the language on an app, taking a class, or any other way to learn a language, know how you will end up learning the language.
- Have an accountability partner.
Tell someone about your goal and ask them to keep you accountable. If they have the same goal, you can keep each other accountable and encourage one another. An accountability partner should support you, keep you motivated, and keep you committed and disciplined.
- Don’t beat yourself up.
If you have already failed your New Year’s resolutions since January 1st, that’s okay! You can start new and take a different approach. Set a more specific goal and examine yourself as to why your resolutions diminished so quickly in your life. Remember that habits take time to build up and maintain; a healthy habit does not appear from one day to the next.