How to Make Effective New Year’s Resolution

How to Make Effective New Year’s Resolution

Every new year, we set out for ourselves new goals and ambitions to achieve. Over the course of the year, we sometimes give up on these goals for various reasons, but have you ever wondered why? For many of us, our constant inability to stick to our resolutions might even have caused us to stop trying to make any in the first place. It is a fact that keeping to resolutions is difficult, but it can be made much simpler and achievable if we have the right tools and methods in place to assist us in finding success. 

In this article, we will be taking a look at some common mistakes made when making a New Year’s resolution and the methods we can use to overcome them!

Tangible Goals

When we set a cause or goal to aim for, it is necessary for our goals to be measurable. For example, if our overall goal is to become fitter, we must have resolutions that enable us to measure fitness tangibly. One way that we can do so is by measuring our timings for runs or keeping a food journal. Having tangible goals helps us to see our progress over time and recognise if we are headed in a direction aligned with what we’ve set out to do.

Attainable goals

Having an attainable goal does not suggest that we cannot aim big. However, it does mean that striving too far too fast might leave us feeling like what we’ve set out to do is too demanding. When we make resolutions, we have to be realistic with ourselves. Although we might have only small goals set up, we must not forget that small progress goes a long way and that consistency is the most important factor for improvement.

When we set attainable goals for ourselves, we allow our mind and body to get used to the habit, goal, or routine that we’ve set out to do. Once we have that in place, striving for more can be made possible. 

Relevant

When deciding on a resolution, it is necessary that we pick something meaningful to us. Before making any resolution, we have to ask ourselves if we are making them for the right reasons. If we are making these resolutions fueled completely by passion at the given moment, we can expect that our resolutions won’t last for very long.  

Consider hard and identify areas of your life that need change. Working on things that are truly meaningful to you provides you with the desire for lasting change. Hence, when faced with hardship or temptation to procrastinate, you can be reminded that these resolutions are for your ultimate good and are therefore worth persevering through. 

“Stackable” Goals

Setting “deadlines” for ourselves helps us to stay goal focused in the events when laziness or procrastination hits. Instead of saying, “I want to be able to do 10 push-ups by the end of the year”, we say, “I want to be able to do 10 push-ups by the end of May”. Giving ourselves these short term goals helps us to get in the right direction for achieving our long term goals with less likelihood of procrastination.