New Year's Resolutions and How to Keep Them

The New Year is a known time for new beginnings and resolutions. It’s a chance to start fresh and focus on self-improvement. But without a plan, it can be difficult to stay the course. This article will show you seven ways to make sure your New Year’s resolutions stick around all year long, as well as provide some fun New Year’s resolution ideas to get you started!

Write Them Down

Remember when you were young, and every year on New Year's Eve, your parents (and teachers) would encourage you to make a list of what you wanted to improve about yourself in the upcoming year? Well, it turns out that this is actually an extremely effective way to ensure that we follow through with our resolutions. Studies show that writing down specific goals and keeping them visible to yourself will increase the chances of following through with those resolutions by ten times! That means if before making new years' resolutions, you are one-tenth likely to follow through on something… after setting some goals for yourself, you are 100% more likely to do it!

Be Specific

Don’t merely say “I want to lose weight” or “I want to save money.” Instead, start with something like, “I want to lose 20 pounds by cutting 500 calories from my diet each day and burning 500 calories through exercise every day. I will track my progress on this calorie deficit using MyFitnessPal.”

New Year's resolutions should be specific enough that they are achievable within the time-frame given, but not so clear-cut that there is no room for interpretation or flexibility if necessary.

Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Achievable

While some people have no problem making New Year’s resolutions that will last a lifetime, most people are looking for New Year's resolution ideas that can be achieved within a month or two, or inside that calendar year. A New Year's resolution made with this intention is more likely to stick around. Be realistic in your timeframe and with your goal. A goal achieved boosts your self-confidence and allows you to then make more goals that grow you as a person and bring you joy.

Make it Fun

If you're finding your New Year's resolution a chore, chances are you won't keep to it. Make sure that when you're working toward your goal you do so in a way that keeps the experience exciting and rewarding. This helps squash feelings of giving up when they arise.

Tell Someone Your New Year’s Resolutions to Help with Accountability

Your success rate with your New Year’s resolutions will greatly improve if you involve another person, your spouse, or family. Publicly announced resolutions aren’t forgotten as quickly. Having a reporting person, process, chart, or other regular record can help you stay responsible with your commitment.

Prepare for Setbacks

Admitting defeat isn't easy but if your resolution fails, don't let it get too much in your way! Instead, make sure you dust yourself off and try again. Keep searching for new strategies until you find what works or speak with other people about their experiences--perhaps they've found something that improved their success.

Take Action

Now all that's left is taking action! For most people, this is the hardest part; but with proper preparation and dedication, just about anything is possible. Setting up incentive systems will keep you motivated to reach your goal, no matter how difficult it may be. These can take some planning ahead of time, but any little motivation booster will do. It could be a deal with yourself, promising yourself a slice of cake if you've been exercising three times a week for the past month. Or it could simply be rewarding yourself after every step taken towards your goal by buying something small that you've been wanting.

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