How to Actually Achieve Your New Years Resolutions

Make and Break

We all set New Years resolutions, but why are they so hard to keep? The fresh start seems so promising, but by February we're already over it and back to our old ways. How do we get these goals to finally stick?

Unreasonable Goals

The first mistake in creating your New Years resolutions is unrealistic goals. Don't expect to develop washboard abs in a single month if you haven't been to a gym or worked out in years. Some goals can also be dangerous, such as trying to lose too much weight, or adding too many new tasks to your daily schedule. Make sure first and foremost that your goal is actually achievable, otherwise you've already failed before you even started.

Big Goals Require Small Steps

The killer mistake many make in their New Years resolutions is to set the bar too high. It's great to have big goals, but you can't expect to get there all at once. For example, a common goal is "I will do 100 sit ups everyday.". Instead of working up to 100 sit ups per day, people will do 100 sit ups each day right off the bat, and then become discouraged by the difficulty and by how sore their body becomes. Instead, do 10 sit ups the first week, then 20 sit ups the next week, until you can comfortably do 100 sit ups everyday.

We Punish Ourselves

In addition to setting the bar too high, we punish ourselves when we encounter any sort of failure or setback. This further discourages us and makes the goal seem even more impossible. You need to celebrate each step achieved and give yourself a pep talk for each backward step. We all have bad days. Just because you had to do 10 sit ups today instead of 20 because your belly is sore doesn't mean you've completely failed. Just try again tomorrow.

Celebrate Each Step

A big mistake often made is thinking you are only "allowed" to celebrate once you've reached your goal. Each step forward is a success - so treat it as such. Giving yourself a high five whenever you've made another step toward your goal is great positive reinforcement and keeps you motivated. Working toward a goal should be a (mostly) positive experience. It shouldn't be misery with a reward at the finish line. Treat yourself along the way.

Forming the Habit

In order to reach a goal, you need to turn the steps into a habit. The difference is a "step" is something you have to actively remind yourself to take, a "habit" is a natural part of your routine. In order to transform a step into a habit is simply by doing it. Habit forming takes time and effort, so don't be discouraged that your new task doesn't feel natural just yet. Just keep trying, and remember, if you forget simply pick yourself up and say "I will try again tomorrow.".

A great resource app that helps with forming good habits: Habitica: https://habitica.com/static/home

Give it Time

The last piece of the puzzle to achieving your goals is to remember to give yourself the time to achieve them. We live in a world of instant gratification and Prime NOW! But goals are something you work toward, not a phenomenon that happens overnight. New Years resolutions mean you have the whole year to achieve them. And even if you don't meet your goal in the span of the year, you can reevaluate and see if you want to change your goal, or if you want to drop it for something better or more realistic. But give yourself the space to actually allow for that to happen. Don't give up February 1 just because you're not at the finish line yet.

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