New year is a great time to start fresh and incorporate new healthy habits into your life. However, according to Uabmedicine.org, only 8% of Americans can keep up with their resolution and achieve that ultimately. These failures are usually the results of some common mistakes which can be eliminated by some careful observations. So, here are some tips to help you actually achieve your new year’s resolution.
1. Choose a realistic plan
Whatever goal you choose for your new year’s resolution, it has to be something achievable. Selecting an overly ambitious goal might be more of a hindrance than a help. For example, if you try to learn swimming, music, and simultaneously aspire to work two-day jobs, you will either fail miserably or will have to make prominent sacrifices — such as giving up your social life. This is why, choosing goals that are possible to actualize is better than just shooting for the stars and hoping to achieve your goals.
2. Plan elaborately
An elaborate plan is a must for a new year’s resolution. Planning in a detailed manner will be time-consuming but it is definitely worth it. Planning also includes strategies to follow up on your goal even when you don’t want to. You might aim to work-out daily yet you may also feel tempted to skip a day to hangout with your friends . In such cases, having a previously planned out strategy will help you immensely to battle temptations and stick to your goal.
3. Get a resolution buddy
Doing something alone is not easy, especially when that something is a long term project. When you are starting a new habit alone, you are not accountable to anyone but yourself. But when you are doing the same thing with a friend of yours, you both are accountable to each other. This sort of accountability facilitates you to develop a habit.
4. Break your goals into smaller parts
A typical new year goal is broad which makes it difficult to evaluate. For example, if you aim to lose 12 pounds of weight, it will be quite difficult to measure success. However, if you break down this same goal into smaller chunks — losing 1 pound every month of the year — then it will be easier to measure and follow up effectively.
5. Ignore the occasional slips
No matter how effective you are at planning and achieving goals, you are highly likely to slip up. Human beings are prone to mistakes and no one is excused from that. Occasionally missing your target is completely fine and you should not punish yourself for that. However, if the slip ups are happening too often then make a sturdy plan to deal with them in the future.
6. Keep a resolution journal
This last tip brings together all the above-mentioned tips. A resolution journal is basically a journal that is 100 percent dedicated to keeping track of your goals. You can write your whole plan in a detailed way, track if you are reaching your smaller goals, and jot down what you can do to increase the effectiveness. Keeping it all together in a single journal will keep the process organized.
