Stick To Your New Year’s Resolutions With These Helpful Tips
A new year brings so much excitement. We’re given a fresh start and a clean slate to be better than we were last year. In our pursuit of this, we make a list of new year’s resolutions. At the beginning of the year, we feel pumped and motivated to get going with that list. However, as the days go by, that drive slowly dwindles and we return to old habits. We tend to get discouraged when we fall short of keeping the new habits going even just for a day.
Here are some helpful tips to make those new year’s resolutions stick all year round:
Start small
If your new year’s resolution is to “have abs,” this might seem too daunting and abstract. Be specific. Instead, make it “go to the gym three times a week” or how many times you can initially commit. Make your small goals realistic and build on them as you go along. You’ll feel great and motivated as you see yourself hitting your targets throughout the year.
Go at it one by one
Most of us have a number of resolutions. Trying to do them all at once, especially at the beginning, is quite hard. So when your new year’s resolutions entail starting habits, go at it one by one. When you think you’ve successfully made one thing a habit, you can start with another. For example, your big goal is to have a healthier lifestyle. Small goals to achieve this may include things like going for a daily morning jog and only drinking water. You can start with disciplining yourself to go out for a jog every morning first. Give it a month or so, until you find that it’s become part of your routine. Now, you can start trying to expel soda, coffee, and the like from your diet. Don’t worry, you’ve got a lot of time to achieve all your goals!
Document your experience
This is an important one. Make sure to keep journals, take photos and videos, or even start a blog about your experience. It can be a powerful tool to help you motivated. Whenever you feel down, just take a look at how far you’ve come and you’ll be inspired to keep going. At the same time, sharing your experiences can motivate other people to do the same. Likewise, it welcomes exchanging fun anecdotes and helpful tips on the matter.
Don’t be so hard on yourself
On your journey in successfully executing your new year’s resolutions, don’t expect it to be perfect. Instead of being your own drill sergeant, be your own cheerleader. Tell yourself that it’s okay to have rest/cheat/reward days. It’s all about being back at it after those kinds of days, weeks, or even months. After all, every Monday and start of the month is another fresh start.
Ask for help
When we’re trying something new, we tend to feel shy or embarrassed to ask people for help. However, talking to people more knowledgeable on the matter helps a lot. Not only does it give you more insight and understanding, it also introduces you to like-minded people. Being around them will help you stay driven and even excited. Before you know it, you’ll be exceeding your new year’s resolutions!
