With the first month of 2012 already gone, many of you are probably on your way to achieving some goals you’ve set for yourself in the New Year. Maybe you’ve been hitting the gym more to get in better shape or keeping up with your schoolwork to boost your GPA.
However, now’s the time where you may lose some of that drive or get frustrated when you don’t see immediate results. So, you might be wondering: how can I stick to my goals and not get discouraged? The most important way: make tangible resolutions.
While we all have our big hopes and dreams, the only way to eventually get there is to put in the time and take the small steps. As Shirley Archer, a fitness and wellness instructor, said in a yahoo.com article, “The typical mistake is being too vague and too large.”
For example, if your resolution is to get into better shape, instead of making your goal just to lose weight in general, make a smaller goal such as walking or running a certain amount of minutes each day, Archer suggests in the article. This way, even though your long-term goal is to be in better shape and shed some pounds, you can feel like you’re accomplishing something along the way as you complete your smaller tasks.
If your New Year resolution is more academic-based, you can still put this system to use. Sarah Siguenza, a sophomore government and politics and journalism double major, said her goal is to procrastinate less and be more organized in 2012.
The way she hopes to accomplish this is through taking it day by day and figuring out what she needs to get done. “ I split my tasks up into smaller portions that I do over the course of a week or so,” Siguenza said. This way, she feels she can stick with her resolution and avoids having her tasks pile up.
Aside from splitting up your main goal into smaller goals, you can also set up a reward system so that when you complete an undertaking, you receive an incentive to keep up with your resolution. While it’s not physical compensation, Siguenza said her “reward” for accomplishing a small goal is less stress in her life.
“I feel like being more organized will eliminate some stress from my life and that’s always a good thing!” she said. This incentive system can be applied to a fitness goal as well. For example, you can reward yourself with one indulgence a week, whether it be your favorite dessert or meal at a restaurant, if you stick with your workout or healthy eating habits.
Remember, it’s not about depriving yourself, just about changing your habits in small increments. This will give you the encouragement to keep up with your long-term goal and make it through the next week.
Keeping up with your goals is always a difficult task that takes a lot of time and hard work. But if you put your mind to it, and reward yourself for your accomplishments, it is definitely not an impossible feat to achieve for improving yourself in 2012!