Three Tips for Sticking to a New Year’s Resolution
As a matter of tradition, most people set at least some kind of New Year’s resolution every year. By the end of January, however, most of these resolutions will either be forgotten or woefully behind completion. By the end of the year, very few of the resolutions that were set at the beginning of it will be anywhere near fulfilled. However, this does not have to be the case. With a little planning and enough dedication, anyone can complete their New Year’s resolution. Here are three tips that will help you to stick to your beginning of the year goals and make them a reality.
Set a Reasonable Goal
One of the biggest reasons that New Year’s resolutions fail is that people set goals that are far too ambitious, believing that a full year is enough time to achieve practically anything. Though this is true, it does not take into account the already busy nature of most people’s lives. A much better approach is to set a reasonable goal that can be worked in around other obligations. Some people, for instance, might resolve to lose 100 pounds in a year. Though this goal is achievable, it requires an entire year without a single slip-up. A better goal would be to lose 30 pounds, which is much more easily achievable and allows some room for setbacks and failures.
Create a Plan for Fulfilling Your Resolution
Many New Year’s resolutions fail because, even though the people setting them know what they want, they have no plan for achieving it. When deciding upon your resolution, it is important to take into consideration what steps you will need to take to make it happen. If your resolution were to become conversationally fluent in a new language, for example, you would need to find a class or course in that language. After that, you would need to go through that class or course to reach your goal of learning the language. By coming up with at least a rough plan of what you will need to do to fulfill your resolution, you will make it much easier to achieve your goal by the end of the year.
Take Small Steps Every Day
Because a year is so long, it is easy to put off taking action on your New Year’s resolution in the belief that there is still plenty of time. A far better approach is to set small steps for yourself to take every day to get incrementally closer to achieving your goal. No matter how small these steps are, taking them every day will keep you focused on achieving your larger goal and keep you progressing slowly toward it.
Despite the reputation they have gotten as empty goals, New Year’s resolutions can be very useful for motivating yourself to do the things you have always wanted to do. Simply remember that achieving any large goal takes time, patience and dedication. By setting achievable goals, creating a plan for achieving them and taking at least some action toward them every day, you can set yourself up for success with this year’s resolution.