Determining and Sticking to your New Year’s Resolution

With New Year’s quickly coming, the time of year for resolutions will soon be here. Whether it’s being active, staying positive, or starting a new book, there are always new habits that could improve your day. There are many ways to go about finding the right goal to set, and ways to help yourself accomplish them. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Reflect on Good and Bad Habits
Before you can decide what you want to change, you should determine the habits that you displayed throughout the year. From there it will be easier to determine the things you would like to change while also highlighting the areas in which you succeeded.
Ask Why your Goals are Important
Take the time to recognize why you want to change these habits. Are they going to positively impact your health, finances, or relationships? Understanding the benefits of changing something in your life can be a great reminder of why you should push through any tough times to reach your goals.
Assign Importance to Each Item on your List
Some resolutions may have a bigger impact on your life than others. Go through each item on your list to see which are the most important to you, so your efforts are focused in the right direction.
Is your Goal Realistic?
A great way to help yourself stick to a New Year’s Resolution is to find one that is not only important to you, but one that you can really accomplish. Some habits take more time, money, and discipline to change than others. Evaluate each of your most important habits to see if working to fix it is realistic given your free time and lifestyle.
State the Benefit in your Goal
Make sure that your goal is framed in a positive way and include the benefits it will have for you. For example, instead of saying “I will read every day”, try saying “I will read every day so that I can take time to slow down as well as learn something new.” This will reaffirm the importance of your goal to keep you on track.
Break your Goal Down
A habit can take weeks to change in full, which is too long for many people to stick with. Try to break your overall goal down into smaller ones, so you can have achievements more frequently. As you reach these, it will help you to believe in yourself and motivate you to continue.
Keep the Goal where you Can See it
Seeing your goal throughout the day can help remind yourself of why you’re doing it. Leave notes of encouragement with them as well to support yourself throughout the day!
Share your Plan with Others
It may help you to stick to your plan if you share it with other people. Sharing this commitment in writing with someone else can help establish its importance to both parties. You can then have a support buddy who offers encouragement and checks in to keep you on the right track.
Do it with Other People
If other people close to you are also working on their goals, you could help one another stick to them. Create weekly check-ins or a shared document to track each other’s progress and offer words of support. However, make sure to not rely on them- in case something happens or they give up, you don’t want to give in with them too.
Keep Track of Progress and Set Rewards
It can help to establish “cheat days” and rewards, depending on what your goal may be. If you set aside time to indulge yourself, it can be easier to push through any difficult times as you know your reprieve is right around the corner. Rewards can also help you to push through those tough times as you’re constantly working towards the next one.

Whatever your New Year’s Resolution may be, there are many tricks to help you stay on track. It can take over 3 weeks to change or break a habit, so build a plan with that in mind. Remember that it’s okay to fail, that should not stop you from trying!

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