We’re already half way through January, so by now you might be close to giving up on your 2018 New Year’s Resolutions. A new semester has started and you’re tired, it’s cold and wet outside and you just spent all of your money on tuition and textbooks. As all of your time and effort becomes occupied by school, work and all of you extra-curriculars, New Year’s Resolutions begin to go out the window. If you’re close to giving up or lacking the motivation you had at the beginning of January, here are some tips to keep you going and help you achieve everything you want to in 2018!
1. Use Technology to Make Things Easier
There is an app for everything these days, so use them to your advantage! If your resolutions seem overwhelming and you don’t know where to start, find an app to help you. Want to workout more? There’s an app for that? Trying to drink more water? There’s an app for that? Want to learn a new language? There’s an app for that! Try searching the App Store on your mobile device for some apps to keep you on track or provide you with an outline to follow. Also, try searching for blogs, online forums or other internet resources to help you! These sites usually have advice from people that have made the same resolutions and guides on how to achieve them!
2. Get Inspired
You may have a lot less inspiration than you did January 1st, that’s understandable! A big step to achieving your resolutions long term is staying inspired. Try to look for blogs, Instagram accounts, YouTube channels or other resources to give you inspiration and provide you with inspirational people to follow and aspire to be. A great resource to stay inspired is Pinterest! Pinterest is filled with inspiring people and allows you to make boards of pictures and posts pertaining to anything that you want. It is a great way to stay organized and have a constant stream of inspirational posts! Also try making an inspiration board full of pictures or notes to put up in your room to keep you inspired at all times!
3. Remind Yourself Why You Made the Resolutions in the First Place
You obviously made these resolutions for an important reason, so keep reminding yourself why. When things get difficult it is easy to loose sight of why you are doing something. Always try to keep the original motivations for your resolutions in mind. With your list of resolutions keep a list of your motivation for them. When you feel like giving up you can refer back to your original motivations and realize that all of your hard work will be worth it in the end.
4. Remind Yourself That It’s OK to Fail
Making big life changes require a lot of commitment and don’t happen right away. There are going to be trip-ups, there are going to be mistakes and there is going to be areas where you fail. The key is not to give up. Just because you make a mistake doesn’t mean that you have to totally give up! Everyone fails some times, so if you do: accept it, use it as motivation, learn from it and come back stronger than before.
5. Get Your Friends Involved
Making resolutions with your friends not only makes things 10x more enjoyable but also holds you accountable. If you know that there is someone waiting at the gym for you, then you are more likely to go. If you and a friend are both sticking to a diet, you will feel more inclined to stay on it. Having someone going through the same thing as you fosters a sense of community and will make things easier! Having a friend also gives you someone to share advice with, ask questions and provide you with moral support along the way.
6. Be Realistic and Plan Ahead
Big life changes aren’t going to happen overnight, it will take a lot of consistent little steps. Be realistic with the expectations that you have and that way you won’t get discouraged. Being more realistic will also make your goals more attainable and better your chances of being successful. Breaking your main resolution into many little goals will make it seem less overwhelming and help you to know where you should be in the process. Planning ahead will help to make sure you stick to your goals and make it easier to achieve them! Invest in a planner or calender to track your progress and make a plan of action!
7. Reward Yourself
Rewarding yourself is a great way to stay motivated! Giving yourself a little treat every time you achieve a small goal rewards you for your hard work and encourages you to achieve the next goal! Rewarding yourself can reinforce the positive choices and behaviors that you are making as well as make all of your dedication seem worth it. Having a reward to look forward to helps you to look to the future and to get you through the tough times. You should be extremely proud when all of your hard work pays off and you achieve what you intended to do, so reward yourself, bask in the glory and use all of these positive emotions to achieve your next goal!
Good luck with all of your 2018 New Year’s Resolutions, you can do it!