Reigniting Your New Year's Resolution Fire
It can be daunting when your list of New Year’s Resolutions is as long as your holiday shopping list. In addition to the post-holiday slump, not being able to keep your resolutions by February, March or even late January may increase your anxiety. When your holiday decorations are packed up and stored away, the frustration of an unused gym membership or other reminders of failed resolutions can make the later winter months feel hopeless. If you are finding it hard to stick with your New Year’s resolutions, here are tips to help you:
Define Your Goals
The first and most important step in achieving your resolutions is by defining and understanding your goals. You need to clearly understand what you want to be your New Year’s resolutions. Once you have defined your resolutions, the next thing is to evaluate the resolutions. Evaluation here means to clearly look into the goals and find out if they are realistic and achievable. For example, you cannot have “being rich” as a resolution yet you do not even have a job. Your goals should be guided by the S.M.A.R.T goal setting principles, which entail the following:
S – Specific, significant, stretching
M – Measurable, meaningful, motivational
A – Achievable, agreed upon, action-oriented, acceptable
R – Realistic, reasonable, rewarding, relevant
T – Timely, trackable, time-based, tangible
Make a Plan
Once you have defined, evaluated, and written down your resolutions, the next step is to have a plan. A plan in this case means setting up actionable tasks that you will be doing each and every day that will enable you to move closer to achieving your goals. It involves the steps and strategies that will guide you into attaining your resolutions.
Find a Buddy
Find a friend with the same resolution as you, and decide to accomplish it together. Whether it’s because you are competitive or because the friends’ company makes your goal easier to stand, having someone on the path to success with you will make you much more likely to get there. Plus, succeeding in your goal will be more fun with a friend by your side.
Remember Why You Started
When making resolutions, most people make them in their heads, and few actually take their time to write them down. Unfortunately, the few that write down their goals do this once a year. You should not be in this category of people. If you want to meet your goals, ensure that you write them out twice daily. Doing this will ensure that you stick to you plan and ensure that what you want to achieve is the most important thing in your life.
The best way to ensure that you are determined in achieving your goals is by writing the resolutions on a piece of paper. You can also purchase the Happier Mind Journal that will remind you of what you need to do every day as you progress towards achieving your objectives. Avoid using the digital method because that can become boring and may make you stray from the right path. Keep the paper or the journal where you can easily see it no matter the time of day. This will always remind you of the things you need to do.
Very few people achieve their New Year’s resolution. Most of them lose focus and drop out along the way. However, setting and achieving such goals are important elements in one’s life. It gives you the feeling and ambition to do more. It’s never too late to get yourself back in line and work towards achieving your goals for the year!
Sources:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/struggling-stick-your-new-years-11781382
http://time.com/5119144/goal-setting-new-years-resolutions/
https://www.happiermind.com/blogs/news/3-simple-ways-to-restart-your-new-year-s-resolutions
https://projecteve.com/tips-to-restart-your-new-years-resolutions/
https://www.hercampus.com/school/lmu/how-restart-your-new-years-resolutions
