Tips To See Through your New Years Resolution

Many of us make New Year's resolutions, but we struggle to stick to them past the first couple of weeks. However, here are a few tips for making your New Year resolutions much easier to stick to and achieve. 

Be Picky

First off, be picky with the resolutions you choose. One mistake many people make is putting too much on their plate and not being able to get to all their resolutions. Instead, be more picky regarding your resolutions, as that will make it far easier to stick to all of them.

Plan

Always ensure you plan how you will achieve your resolutions. If you want to quit smoking, look up how to get a nicotine prescription; if you're going to get fitter, sign up for a gym and obtain or develop a workout plan. 

Your plan doesn’t need to be highly detailed, but it should be a blueprint that keeps you on track. This allows you to follow your progress and goals throughout the year. 

Set Long & Short-Term Goals

Speaking of goals, you should list both long and short-term goals you want to achieve. If you are working out, a long-term goal could be to lose weight, for example, while a short-term goal would be running 5 miles in a specified amount of time or bench-pressing a certain weight.

Always ensure your goals are achievable; if you want to write a novel, for example, a goal of having it published and sitting on store shelves is incredibly difficult compared to simply having it finished. 

Know Your Abilities

One easy way to set yourself up for failure is setting big goals but not having the ability to achieve them. This sounds harsh, but working within your capabilities, at least at the start, helps you build a foundation to improve and strengthen them down the line. 

Using the novel example again, having the goal of publishing a book is extreme if you have never written anything before. 

Start Slow 

No matter what your resolution is, you should always start slow. If you want to quit smoking, work out, or learn a new skill, whatever it may be; jumping into the deep end first is an almost sure-fire way to fail quickly. 

Instead, build up to your goals; if you want to run 5 miles, start off by walking 1; if you want to learn to play guitar, start off by learning where your fingers go. These things may seem obvious, but they are steps that are often overlooked as we can become impatient. 

Adapt When Necessary 

Depending on your resolution, there may be a time when you get stuck for one reason or another, and you can’t move forward, and moving back would be deleting progress. In this instance, learn to adapt. 

If you get an injury, for example, and can't hit the gym, don't give up and think you can't do anything now. Instead, look up exercises that work around your injury; this means that even though you aren't completely sticking to your plan, you are still progressing in the right direction.. 

Make it a Habit First

One of the biggest mental obstacles you will need to overcome is transforming your resolution into a habit. There is a big difference between doing something every day and actively making time for it. 

Whether it is exercising or learning a new skill, always ensure you have the one or two hours you need set aside every day and make the activity part of your routine. This ensures you are always putting effort into it and not ending up at a point where you have gone two or three weeks without doing it because other things got in the way. 

Track Your Progress

Tracking your progress is another surefire way to keep motivated. As motivation or lack thereof, can make or break your success, seeing your progress in front of you will constantly remind you of the improvements you are making. 

Tracking progress can be anything from tracking how far you can run without a break to making a mark on a song sheet to see how far you got before making a mistake on the guitar. 

Be Consistent, Not Obsessive 

Another mistake many of us make when trying to achieve our resolutions is becoming obsessive instead of consistent. Obsession with your resolution can often lead to burnout and, ultimately, failure in the long run.

Instead, aim to be consistent with your progress; consistency means doing something that helps you towards your goal. If you can’t put an hour in, do 30 minutes; if you have to skip a day, don’t overthink it; just put in extra effort the next.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

Building onto the last point, don’t beat yourself when it comes to missing a goal or not making the progress you want to see. Many resolutions, such as being healthier, aren’t things that are solved in a couple of weeks or even months; they take a long time and are more akin to complete lifestyle changes as opposed to “resolutions.”

Because of this, don’t take your resolution so seriously that you get annoyed or angry at yourself. Instead, take the ups with the downs and always look forward instead of hanging onto slip-ups.