Resolutions are notoriously difficult to stick to. Can anyone honestly say they have never broken a New Year’s resolution? If you want to boost your resolution success rate, take a look at the following five tips to help you smash your goals in the future.
Don’t start your resolutions on New Year’s Day
Avoid the pressures of ‘New Year, New Me’ and start your resolutions before (or after) the time constraints of January 1. Starting your resolution before the big day will help you get into the routine of accomplishing your goals before everyone else starts their own. Studies suggest that it takes 66 days before a resolution becomes a habit, so starting early is a perfect way to get a head start on the marathon.
Make your resolutions fun and enjoyable
My favourite piece of advice is to make your resolutions fun and enjoyable each year. Who says resolutions have to be challenging and life-changing?
Each year I set the resolution to go on more day trips and enjoy more leisurely activities. I set this each year because I enjoy it and it allows me to start my year on a positive note. Why not join me this year and set a resolution that is fun and enjoyable for you?
Plan ahead
Being organized is key to success when it comes to resolutions–especially if your New Year resolution is to be more organized!
Joking aside, planning ahead is really important.
For example, if you’re hoping to give up smoking this year, ensure you are well stocked up with the safe product you are using to replace your cravings. This will help you to avoid reaching for a cigarette if you run out or occur a strong craving. It will also make the process of achieving your goal far less stressful.
Quality over quantity
It may seem pretty obvious, but the fewer resolutions you set yourself, the better chance you have of sticking to them. It’s easy to get carried away and set lots of resolutions. Especially when social media causes us to compare our lives to others.
Go easy on yourself and create one or two realistic goals. Pick the main thing you want to focus on and the buzz of achieving that resolution will allow you to smash your goals.
Setting too many resolutions will eventually take its toll and could cause feelings of failure. You can achieve amazing things if you are realistic with yourself!
Work towards milestones
How many people have started the New Year with the resolution to lose weight? How many people have also looked over at the mountain of Christmas chocolate, mince pies, and cheese leftovers from the festive season and thought “I’ll start on Monday”?
It’s easy to postpone resolutions when they’re as vague as “I want to lose weight”. After all, you have 365 days to complete your resolution, so why not wait a while?
To avoid this from happening, set small, achievable monthly milestones to work towards. This will not only help you track your progress, but it will also help to keep you motivated throughout the year.
Hopefully, these five tips will help you to stay motivated with your resolutions. Let us know how you’re getting on in the comments below!
Photo by alexandra marcu on Unsplash
