How to Make
Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick
What is your resolution for 2024?
I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and that you had the opportunity to spend quality time with your loved ones and create memories that last for a lifetime.
Have you made any new year’s resolutions? Do you usually make any? If yes, how often do you manage to keep them?
The reality is that most of us make big promises to ourselves in the beginning of each year with which we aim to change our lives in a positive way, but way too often these changes fade into oblivion by the end of the first month. Have you ever wondered why that happens?
According to a study by the University of Scranton, only 8% of people who make new year’s resolutions actually achieve them. That means that 92% of us fail to stick to our goals and end up feeling frustrated and disappointed. Why is that so?
Common Mistakes That Set Us Up for Failure
Here are some of the mistakes that we tend to make when setting our new year’s resolutions and how to avoid them:
There is no exact goal set, you don’t know why that resolution is important to you. The best example I can give is this: “I will go to the gym 5 times a week”. Why? What is your goal with going to the gym? A much more successful resolution would be: "I will incorporate physical exercise into my daily routine to balance out my sedentary lifestyle/to make me feel more active/as part of my self-care routine -> insert your own reasons. This way on days when you can’t make it to the gym, you can still replace the exercise routine with some extra walking, taking the stairs, some stretching exercise at home…etc. And most importantly, you know exactly why this new habit is important to you. Know your motivation, know why exactly the change you want to make is important to you. Write it down on a piece of paper, put it on the fridge door or the mirror and on days when you run out of excitement and energy to keep going, reread your motivations.
“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.”
We aim for big changes that overwhelm us, create unnecessary stress and in the end make us abort the mission. I see so often people trying to make 180-degree changes in their lives when the new year starts. Stop smoking, stop drinking alcohol, eating a very restrictive diet, incorporating loads of heavy exercise into their before very passive lifestyle…etc. These big changes might be motivating for some of us, but for most of us a less restrictive, less stressful approach works better. One of my mottos that has been helping me tons in the past few years is “Progress over perfection”. Start with small, but consistent changes. Instead of restricting yourself try crowding out: add in something good to take out something less healthy. For example, add in more filtered or mineral water into your daily life by drinking one glass right after getting up and one glass before each meal, leave one glass on your desk to remind you to drink more water during the day. This way you start to hydrate your body properly and you will see that the sugary juices and soft drinks will be reduced without you having to make extra efforts. Another example would be replacing mindless scrolling with some reading or quiet time with candles and breathing exercise before bed. It will not only reduce your stress level, but will also improve your sleep and your mood.
Start with small, but consistent changes. You don’t have to change everything at once, just take one step at a time and celebrate your achievements along the way.
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.”
We don’t make time for ourselves. As soon as life gets too busy, work and family demands arise the first thing we drop is our own self-care, because we think that is less important. We lack the organization and start prioritizing anything and everything except ourselves. I know from my own experience how easy it is to fall into this trap. Planning ahead can help us avoid this mistake and keep our new year’s resolutions. Planning ahead means setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for ourselves and breaking them down into smaller and manageable steps. Planning ahead also means anticipating the potential obstacles and challenges that might arise and preparing strategies to overcome them. Planning ahead also means creating a supportive environment that facilitates our success and eliminates distractions and temptations. Two strategies that can help us plan ahead are planning and scheduling time in our calendar. Planning and scheduling time in our calendar means allocating a specific and realistic amount of time for each task or activity that we want to accomplish and sticking to it. Planning and scheduling time in our calendar also means setting reminders and alarms to keep us on track and motivated. Planning and scheduling time in our calendar also means treating those appointments like an important work meeting. It is as important as our work-life responsibilities. If we don’t care for ourselves, sooner or later our body will make us take time for ourselves by getting sick, feeling unmotivated, low on energy and so on. Plan and schedule time in your calendar for yourself. Make yourself a priority and honor your commitments to yourself. You deserve it and you need it.
“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”
Conclusion
I hope you find these tips useful and that they will help you make this year’s resolutions a success. Remember, you have the power to change your life for the better, you just need to take action and be consistent. Don’t let the fear of failure stop you from pursuing your dreams. You are capable of more than you think.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
With much love,
