The New Year is when we all make promises to be kinder to ourselves. Gym memberships sign-ups are at an all time high, hobbies flourish, craft lessons thrive, and language lesson enrollments soar.
We all set out to start the year with a clean slate. And everyone’s favorite day of the year to make promises is, of course, New Year’s day when everyone’s buttons are pushed to reset. Think of it as a yearly OS upgrade. We all want that upgrade.
But the problem isn’t making the promise to be better, the problem is keeping the promise.
Very few people have the strength to stick to their pledges for the rest of the year. We all start off bright eyed and optimistic on the path to self improvement and somewhere along the way, we falter. It might be due to lack of motivation, or we get lazy and just revert to our old habits because it’s easier to go back to familiar things than create new ones.
Most of the time people just lose wind and give up. It’s very easy to fall back into old patterns and go back to habits that are less than ideal. Nasty habits are developed out of convenience anyway. The trick is to strengthen your resolve so that you can see it through.
Here are a few motivational tips to help you stick to your resolutions:
- Measurable and Achievable Goals
Create achievable goals. Don’t just go and write down “lose weight” on your resolutions list. Write something that can be measured and be broken down into achievable goals. For example, instead of writing “lose weight,” you can write: Lose 15 lbs. And then you can break that down further into achievable goals.
Here’s an example:
Resolution #1: Lose Weight: Lose 15lbs
- Lose 5lbs from Jan to Apr
- Lose 5lbs from May to Aug
- Lose 5lbs from Sep to Dec
This provides you with a more measurable goal tracking system. In a few months, you can see how far you’ve come and how close you are to achieving your goal. Its easier to adjust and stay on track.
- Accountability
Talk about your goals to someone who can keep you accountable for sticking to your resolutions. If you mean to make healthier food choices, talk to an office friend. That way, if you slip and order that big, double cheese, double patty, beef burger with extra large fries for lunch, she can call you out and remind you to order a salad for dinner.
- Perfect is the enemy of good.
How many times have we made excuses for ourselves for not even starting on our New Year’s Resolutions. We tell ourselves things like: “I don’t have the perfect running shoes” or “I’m waiting for those yoga pants to go on sale” or the classic “I’ll start my diet tomorrow.” It doesn’t have to be perfect. You just have to make an effort to start. Starting is good, try it sometime. You don’t need perfect running shoes, your old pair would do fine. Buy those yoga pants now and think of it as an investment in yourself. Start your diet now, even if it’s just passing up on the soda and dessert.
- Inspiration and the right reasons
Speaking of investing in yourself, make resolutions for the right reasons. Pick an inspiration that will last you for however long you need to stick to your resolution. Which means, if you were to pick “fit into that little black dress” over “be stronger and healthier”, pick the latter.
- The End Game
We make resolutions because nobody is perfect. There will always be room for improvement. When we make resolutions, it just means that we want to strive to be better versions of ourselves – kinder, healthier, fitter, stronger, wealthier, better versions of ourselves. It’s a noble goal and one we should always strive for. Our end game should always be improvement and resolving to achieve our goals within the year so that we can focus on being even more awesome versions of ourselves next year.
Whatever you hope to achieve for the year, may you find that the stars align for you to always help you achieve your goal. Help the universe help you by pulling your weight and working for it. Remember: Stay Humble, Hustle Hard. Good luck!
Written by Jaie O. – The Help