Setting a New Years Resolution? This is For You.

It’s the “new year, new me” time again!

People are setting intentions for who they want to become. While some are successful in their resolutions, many more end up abandoning them. There are many reasons why resolutions fail. Sometimes, they’re too ambitious. Or, they’re not motivating enough. If you’re setting a resolution for the year, I’d wager it’s not your first time around the block. You might have tried to reach this goal a few times before and fallen short. This time will be different, though, and I’ll show you how to make it so. Below, I’ve outlined some tips to create your New Year's resolution and stick to it.

Create your resolution.

There are several important factors to consider when setting up a new year’s resolution: 

-How much time do you have, daily or weekly, to allot to this habit? 

-How long does your motivation last before it begins to wane? 

-Do you have supportive people in your life? 

-How important is this resolution to you?

-Do you envision it taking a full year? Or, is there a different timeline you’d like to consider?

-How will you measure your success? 

Working out all the fine print for your resolution is crucial to your success.

Find your purpose.

Why is this resolution important to you? Is it what you want, or is it what you think you should want? Make sure you set a resolution that’s important to you and inspires you. To make this even more meaningful, imagine what your life will look like once you hit this goal. What will be different for you? If you want to go all-in on this idea, I recommend creating a vision board. Keep this vision board somewhere highly visible so you don’t lose sight of what you’re working towards. At the very least, write down your full resolution somewhere so you can refer to it as you go. This will also serve as your action plan.

Be realistic.

While your ultimate goal might be to drop 50 lbs, you’re not going to be able to (healthily) hit that in a month. Be honest with yourself about the time you have to dedicate to your resolution. If you’re not confident you can get it done, aim for something a little easier. You can always go for more once you’ve hit this first goal! 

Get specific.

What exactly are you wanting to accomplish with your resolution? Exercising more is a frequent intention, but what kind of exercise will you do? How many times per week? When will you do it? The more details you can nail down, the more likely you are to succeed.

Think positive.

“What if it doesn’t work out?” 

Well, what if it does?

Not trying at all is the only way to be sure you won’t reach your resolution. In the worst-case scenario, your resolution won't work. But, you’ll have learned more about yourself in the process. That’s not exactly a loss, is it?

You deserve whatever it is you’re aiming for, and you’re fully capable of getting there.

Break your goals down into smaller chunks.

Let's go back to the 50 lb weight loss goal. It can help to set 10 lb increments to make this goal seem like less of a Herculean feat. You’ll be far less likely to be discouraged about slow progress if you’re seeing small victories along the way.

Create a fail-safe.

Find a way to catch yourself before you fall off with your habit. What I mean by this is: if you’re finding your resolution to be too much of a challenge, decrease it. If you’re aiming to eat two vegetables a day but are struggling to get any at all, aim for one vegetable every other day. When you can hit this goal consistently for a few weeks, aim for one a day. Continue increasing in this pattern until you get to your ultimate goal.

Sticking to it

Reward yourself.

Once you hit one of your mini-goals, reward yourself! You worked hard to get here. Your reward depends on what’s rewarding for you. Some people like purchases, others like vacations. Speaking for myself, I like new stationery products and workout clothes.

Keep track of your progress.

This will help you know how consistent you’ve been. It'll also help you feel better about yourself: likely, you’ve had more days of success than failures. Tracking your progress can show you patterns as well: perhaps you make it to the gym on weekdays, but miss Saturdays. What’s going on over the weekend that’s getting in your way? You can mark days on a calendar, put poker chips in a jar, or tally marks on paper. It doesn't matter what you choose as long as you use it!

Having a system to track your progress will help you visualize your success.

Fail.

No, really. You’re going to. You’re going to skip some days at the gym. Maybe even a whole month or two. Failure is a good teacher: what did you learn from these experiences? What caused you to fall off? Build systems to avoid running into this in the future.

Get back up.

All right, you’ve failed. Let yourself wallow a bit: feel whatever it is you’re feeling, then keep going. The only true failure is when you give up. You have endless opportunities to try again! Even if it takes you a year to get back on your feet, that’s okay.

It doesn’t matter how many attempts you take in order to reach your goal. Each attempt provides new lessons that’ll serve you on your journey.

Change your mind.

There's no shame in abandoning a goal that isn't working for you! Figure out what it was about this resolution that didn't serve you. Did you choose a form of exercise you ended up hating? Did you learn that you hate salads as a way to eat more veggies? Awesome - you now have the opportunity to choose something better.

Find support.

This can be your friends, family members, or professional support.  It’s also important to share your resolution with the right people. If you have some Debbie Downers in your life, it may be best to keep your resolution private from them. Enough doubt from people close to you can tank your progress and your self-esteem. You don’t deserve that! If you can find someone whose resolution looks like yours, it’ll pay dividends. For example, let’s say you have a coworker who’s also trying to be more active. You can take your work breaks together and spend some time walking. The buddy system is a beautiful thing! If you still have a hard time staying on target, a health coach can help you create smarter goals. Health coaches help remove the barriers between you and your resolutions.

Support is a game-changer. Share your resolution with those who will uplift you.

Celebrate!

You will hit your resolution! It may take longer than you thought, but with enough grit and some smart planning, you’ll get it done. Now, it’s time for a new goal! You get to start the beautiful process of self-development all over again.