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What are New Year Resolutions? Do You Actually Need Them?
Come new year and people are off to making new year resolutions. Not that it is bad to do so, but how effectively do you think these resolutions stay in place? For those who aren’t familiar with the term, this is what it means. A new year resolution is basically a promise to yourself to do something different in the coming year. A resolution is meant to bring about a positive change in your life and is largely relied on to make you a better person. Studies show that more than 60 percent of adults make new year resolutions every year.
In fact, making new year resolutions are good for you as they help you to:
- Work towards a fixed objective (or more) in the coming year.
- Be more focused in all your activities with most aligned towards the new year resolution.
- Increase your motivation to go ahead in the year.
- Increase your motivation to go ahead in the year.
- Make you feel accomplished as you work towards fulfilling the new year resolution.
But sadly, only less than 10 percent of the people actually stick to their new year resolutions. Are you one of them? In that case, you need to review certain aspects while making a new year resolution this time.
Tips on How to Stick to New Year Resolutions
So, what are your new year resolutions for 2021? It could be anything! From losing weight to quitting smoking and reading more books, the list of new year resolutions to make is literally endless. But the question is whether you will stick to keeping them! The trick to stick to your new year resolutions is to adopt some psychological strategies. Make this new year about making a fresh start and “effectively” sticking to your new year resolutions. This article will help you with some tips to not settle back into old habits and obviously to not abandon your new year resolutions.
Keep It Small and Realistic
You might be having a long list of potential new year resolutions. Well, there are obviously quite a lot of changes that you would like to see in yourself! But it is best if you don’t spread yourself too thin among a humongous list of new year resolutions. It is proved that the longer the list of resolutions, the less likely you are prone to stick to them. So, the trick here is to keep it simple and short. Focus on your energies and pick just a limited few (if possible, just one!) new year resolutions. Taking on too much all at once could easily tire you down and look totally unrealistic to accomplish along the year. So, why doubt yourself with an exhausting list of new year resolutions that seem impractical to stick to?
Stick to One Resolution at a Time
Like suggested, keep the number of resolutions to a minimum. Nonetheless, it is best if you start with a small step to begin with. Yes, just choose one among the selected few of your new year resolutions. Say, you vow to take a morning walk and if it seems possible to do so every morning, then start doing just that at first. When this resolution seems quite solid in your routine after a short period of time, gradually add one more of the new year resolution to your schedule. This is one of the techniques of the method to stick to your realistic new year's resolutions and probably one of the easiest to follow!
Commit Yourself and Talk about It
Let’s talk about the same new year resolution to stick to a morning walk. You have to commit yourself to this one particular resolution and vow to stick to it no matter what. Yes, take out your walking outfit the night before, keep your water bottle ready to pick up and do everything else that reminds yourself to stick with your morning walk, the first thing in the day. Also, when you talk about the new task to a friend or family, you are also reinforcing the idea in your mind. So, by doing all the actions that align towards the goal, you are actually motivating yourself to stick to the new year's resolution. Smart isn’t it?
Ask for Help
The sad truth about abandoning new year resolutions is the fact that you find it dauntingly difficult to follow considering life’s practical hurdles. But the good news is that, with a person to rely on for advice or any other help, you can still manage to achieve your goal. So, find a helping hand that you might need to watch your kid while you go for that walk or better yet, find a walking companion to motivate you to get up and go- every single day!
Learn from the Past and Avoid Mistakes
Its natural for you to stumble on the same mistakes over and over again in life. The same applies to new year resolutions as well. So, our suggestion for you is to intelligently find the reason that made you ditch your previous year’s resolution and then find ways to overcome it. The lack of a planned daily routine, lack of motivation or simple laziness could be the likely reasons that you couldn’t stick to your morning walk resolution earlier. Make an effort to find solutions to the potential problems and move ahead with sticking to your new year resolution.
Plan Well
This is undoubtedly one of the most crucial of all tips towards sticking to a new year resolution. Leave no loose trails when it comes to handling a goal or a task. That being said, you have to understand that planning for a task involves dedication and effort. So, try not to get disheartened and distracted by the idea of planning. Yes, it may involve making a few changes in your daily schedule and finding time to sticking to new year resolution. But the end result will be definitely worth it!
Break Down Big Goals into Small Ones
Say, for example, you are looking towards mastering the art of cooking in the coming year and want to enjoy some good home-cooked food. If you are a newbie at it, our advice for you is to break down the goals into small practical ones. Start with small no-cook recipes at first and fix a timeline for you to gradually get used to the idea of working in the kitchen itself. Once you are familiar with the simple recipes, slowly move on to easy recipes that involve two or three ingredients. Similarly, by breaking down the goals into small ones, you are more likely to stick to the new year resolution without feeling overwhelmed.
Renew Your Motivation and Reward Yourself
During the first few days of a new year’s resolution, you would seemingly look confident and motivated to go ahead. But as time passes, your motivation may start to dwindle. Physical and mental obstacles in your way may easily force you to withdraw from sticking to your new year resolution. What you need at this point in time is a quick reminder as to why you need to stick to your new year's resolution. Find ways to get inspired and move on with your goal without actually beating yourself up. Don’t forget to reward yourself from time to time. But be careful with it, as rewarding yourself with a cheat meal every week may not be the best way to stick to your resolution for losing weight!
Things Not to Do to Stick to New Year Resolutions
Now that we have discussed all the possible ways to stick to your new year resolutions let’s see what you need to stop doing intruder to stick to them! It is always best to stick to the positives and keep track of your progress in achieving your goal in the new year. But all along the way, there are some things that you need to be wary off in order to not deviate from your path of sticking to them. Here are some of the things that you need to avoid while sticking to your simple new year's resolutions.
Dont Make Drastic Changes to Your Routine
Yes, one of the main reasons why you tend to slowly do away with your new year resolution is because you try to forcefully incorporate it into your system. Be kind to yourself and realize that it isn’t easy to quickly bring a change to your life. It takes a minimum possible time to accept or abandon a habit. If you are thinking of losing weight in the coming year, then you may need to join a gym or start working out at home.
However, if you have kids at home who are used to playing with you for a while after school, then ideally it is best if you avoid those hours to hit the gym. You can gradually shift their playtime to a suitable hour to make sure that you don’t disrupt the relationship bonding time with your family by bringing out a change rapidly. Also, make sure to plan your daily or weekly schedule ahead of time in order to avoid confusion.
Don't Give up Easily
The first and foremost thing that you have got to remember while sticking to your new year resolution is to forget perfection. Yes. If you aim for a cent percent achievement in all aspects of your new year goal, then you are more likely to get disheartened and prone to leave midway.
So, give more focus on the progress towards your goal and not entirely on the final destination. Don’t forget to celebrate every small milestone achieved along the way. This way you will not lose interest and will stick to your new year resolution. If your new year goal is to hit the gym for 30 minutes every day and if you can’t stick to it on all days of the week, then don’t give up on it easily. Reduce the duration to at least 10 minutes on days that you are busy. This way, you will not lose focus on the new year resolution entirely as something is definitely better than nothing!
Don't Compare Your Goals with Others
Say, you and your friend make the same new year resolution to quit smoking in the coming year. Maybe he or she could completely withdraw from the habit within a matter of a few months. On the other hand, you may find it extremely difficult to face the withdrawal symptoms and totally are in a mess in the first few months. However, take your time and slowly work towards achieving your goal.
Always remember that each person is different. What works for one person may not work the same way for someone else. So, it's always best to avoid comparing the progress of your goal with somebody else’s (Unless of course if you are on the lead!). Nevertheless, the best thing to do is to only draw inspiration from others without getting discouraged to move forward with your goal. Also, the type or intensity of your new year resolution may vary from that of others. Your resolution to read at least one page from a book every day may look trivial to a book buff. So, it is totally up to you!
Don't Stress too Much Over It
One of the common reasons why people deviate from their new year resolutions is because they stress too much over it. Challenges are bound to happen all along the way and hence, your mind must be prepared to face them whatsoever. But this should not be done at the cost of your mental peace. If you feel like the thought of achieving your new year resolution is overpowering your mental balance, then it's best if you stop for a while. Give a break and take time to understand that the more your stress over something, the more difficult it becomes to concentrate. So, let loose of your tense feelings, be more happy and grateful in life and consciously put an effort to take things lightly on the go!
Hope this helps you to stick to your new year's resolutions this year! Keep going!
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A Word from BP Guide
The yearly ritual of resolution setting doesn't have to be an annual disappointment. If you choose the right process you will achieve success . Be kind and flexible with yourself and celebrate any and all progress along the way. It's not just the end goal that matters—it's the journey along the way.