With every new year comes new resolutions. But how many of those have actually been accomplished? Year after year, we tend to set big goals for ourselves, only to fall short and fall back into our old habits. When this happens, it’s really important to take a moment to reflect on why you didn’t reach your goal. The biggest mistake people make is trying to break old habits overnight.
Whether you’re trying to eat healthier, work out more, or quit smoking, don’t expect to wake up in the new year as a completely different person. It’s good to start thinking about your goals and working towards them, but habits take weeks to break. You’re more likely to fail when you take drastic changes. So instead of taking a complete 180, start off slow.
Instead of viewing your New Year’s resolutions as a quick fix to the perfect end result, focus more on the journey. You may have all of the right goals set in your head, but did you stop to think about how you’re going to achieve them? If your resolutions call for lifestyle changes, change things little by little. If your goal is to become a better student, don’t go from rarely studying to studying 8+ hours a day. This dramatic change is going to lead to burning out. Start by studying an extra half an hour each day for each class and gradually increase the time with each week. It’s also important to allocate breaks. Then, as the semester goes on, you’ll figure out how you study best and how long you can go. Lifestyle changes are all about finding what suits you and how much your mind and body can handle.
The same goes for becoming healthier. If your goal for the new year is to become more active, don’t go out and run two miles January 1st after not working out for months. Pushing your body further than it can go will only stress you out and cause you to feel overwhelmed and discouraged. If you want to eat better, don’t go from an omnivore lifestyle to eating vegan in 24 hours. Your cravings will only cause you to binge eat. Patience is key.
It’s very important to ask yourself “is this something I really want to change?” or “do I feel pressured by everyone else to change?” No one is perfect, but not everyone needs to feel like they need to change something about themselves just because the calendars have reset. If you aren’t really passionate about making a change, then don’t bother. But if you are, think about why. The most important part about reaching your goals is finding motivation within.
A new year does not equal a new you. You might have new goals and a new journey, but you are the same person waking up on January 1st as you were on December 31st. Leave your New Year’s resolutions to the simple tasks in life and achieve your long-term goals on your own schedule. Take your time, make little changes, and break old habits. Achieving your goals will take time, but it’s worth the wait.