6 Steps To Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions

Do you want to make New Year’s resolutions stick this time?

If you’re tired of failing to achieve your goals year after year, I’ve got you. I was stuck in that loop for a long time, and the struggle is real. A recent study discovered that around 64% of people give up on their New Year’s resolutions within the first month. We’ve all been a part of that statistic at least once in our lives.

But, how can we change that? How can we make our resolutions stick this year?

There are some steps that you can take, and I’ve listed them in this post for you. If you’re struggling with your resolutions, try to use this list to detect what went wrong and what you can do to fix it. And don’t worry, if it turns out that you messed up – it’s never too late to start again! In fact, if you read to the end, you’ll see that failing is actually part of the process.

Photo by Ronnie Overgoor on Unsplash

Here are the 6 steps that will help you keep your New Year’s resolutions.

1. Focus on one goal at a time

When we get excited about making a change, we feel like we can do it all! Start exercising, drink more water, quit smoking, start an online business… We try to do it all at once.

While it’s great to have many goals, it’s also important to keep it realistic.

That’s why the best thing you can do for yourself is to pick just one goal to begin with. This way, you won’t get overwhelmed by all the demands you put on yourself. It’s okay if you take it slow. You don’t have to achieve everything you want this month, or the next one.

You have a whole year and a whole life to get to where you want to be. Start today, but start smart.

Make sure that your goal is realistic and measurable. If you’re the kind of person who smokes a pack of cigarettes per day, it might be too difficult to stop overnight. Instead, make that a yearly goal and start by smoking less and less throughout the year, until quitting completely feels more manageable.

2. Make a plan

Set milestones and checkpoints. These can be weekly or monthly.

Schedule some time to check on your progress to see what went well and what went wrong. What are some things that are tripping you up? Don’t be afraid to troubleshoot your process.

Take your lifestyle and personality into account when making a plan. Make it suit you. What works for someone else might not work for you. Find the most convenient ways to implement the new changes into your life and your schedule. Your obligations won’t disappear overnight, so have them in mind. This way, you will raise your odds of keeping your resolutions.

Having a good plan written down is almost half the job done.

3. Reward yourself

If you have something to look forward to, it will be easier to do the work. So, celebrate each milestone and each small success, but don’t stop just at that. If you have a tough day, and you still get up to work out – celebrate that too!

Think about what makes you happy and what you enjoy doing. Then do it as a reward. This can be some chocolate, a movie night or a date with your friends. Whatever it is, make sure it means something to you.

4. Remember why achieving this goal is important to you

When it gets hard, it’s important to remember why you want to achieve your goal. Take some time to be alone and reflect on your reasons.

Write down your why and keep it near.

When you feel like you want to give up, read it! Remembering your reasons will pull you out of your slump and give you enough energy and willpower to persist.

5. Find ways to have fun along the way

Change can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be boring.

Have a friend join you. Laugh at your failures. Let music help you with the mood. When you’re feeling unmotivated, just get up and do a few minutes of a silly dance. Just do it. You can’t feel down when you’re flailing your arms like Chicken Little.

Fun makes everything better. (Except for funerals, maybe)

6. Let yourself fail and learn from it

Listen, life will get in the way. You will fail at some point. And that’s ok!

You don’t have to get everything perfect to make your resolution stick. That’s why all-or-nothing goals are too unrealistic – sometimes life just gets in the way. So, don’t make it your goal to practise the piano every single day for 2 hours straight. Instead, try finding a few more advanced songs you’d like to master, think about what you need to do to get there and plan around that.

Be forgiving. Learn to talk to yourself with love.

Here’s an affirmation that can help you stop beating yourself up:

“I give myself permission to fail. I don’t have to be perfect to succeed. I’m doing my best and that’s enough.”

Leave some room for life. You won’t erase all your progress if you mess up once or skip one training session. Just start again tomorrow.

Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash

If you feel like you could use some guidance, feel free to contact me via email or a scheduled call. Keep motivated and stick to your New Year’s resolutions this year with the help of a certified hypnotherapist.