How to Make and Keep New Year’s Resolutions

As we herald the start of a brand new year, some of us decide that we want to use the fresh start to make changes in our lives. Just having a resolution can be motivating in itself! But how do you get started and most importantly, stick to it? In this article, we explore how to set and keep your resolution and motivate yourself along the way.

What Should I Choose for My New Year’s Resolution?

Anything you like! Popular choices for resolutions each year generally revolve around a desire to improve our current lifestyle and things that are perhaps holding us back. Popular choices are things such as:

• Exercising more
• Losing weight
• Reducing spending/saving for a special event or purchase
• Learning a new skill or hobby
• Stopping smoking
• Becoming more organised
• Reducing social media use

New Years resolutions are easy to make but sticking to them might be slightly trickier! Let’s break down the steps to success in keeping your resolution and end the year having achieved the results that you would like to see.

1. Make Your Resolution Specific and Achievable

Resolutions are more likely to be successful if they have a definite and specific aim and are something meaningful to you. If your resolution is made because you think you should, you feel pressured or just set a very broad or vague resolution, it’s not likely to work. If your resolution is not to go on social media as much, set a specific goal ‘I will only look at social media for an hour a day’. It must be achievable too – do you truly feel ready and able to do whatever the resolution is?

2. Perfect Planning

Mapping out the necessary steps to successfully reaching your resolution goal are the key to success. Planning as to how you are going to deal with temptation when it arises is important. Let’s look at this in a simple way:

Resolution: Giving up takeaways

Possible Barrier to Success: Feeling too tired to cook after work

Step to Success: Make sure to cook double quantities and freeze the extra portions giving you your own version of a ready meal.

3. Stay Motivated

Motivation is likely to fluctuate therefore having a plan to stay motivated is important. You could:

• be public with your resolution to friends, family, and colleagues so everyone can support you to success
• write a pros and cons list to remind yourself of the reasons why you are setting a goal for yourself
• celebrate little successes and don’t dwell or have negative thoughts about any little set backs.

4. Plan a Reward for Completion

Set an end date for your resolution and choose a reward for achieving your goal. If your goal is to take up a new hobby, reward yourself with some equipment that will really let your new hobby take off. If it’s giving up smoking, put the money you would have spent in a jar and break open once you’ve stopped smoking to treat yourself to a fantastic holiday instead.

Whatever you decide upon for your New Years Resolution, remember to be kind to yourself. Make your goal achievable and try not to pile too much pressure on yourself. Good luck we are all routing for you!