Top tips to sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions:
A study by the Richard Wiseman at the University of Bristol in 2007 found that 88% of people are not successful in carrying out their new year’s resolution [1], this is common every year as people realise very quickly the effort and willpower needed to carry out the one they have chosen. However, there are little tips you can use in order to be part of the 12% who do carry out their resolution which are:
Making just one main resolution:
The idea of resolutions around the New Year’s gets people excited and they start to think of 3 or 4 mini ones to stick to, usually all the things they want to change in their life at the same time. The main goals every year are usually either to lose weight/become healthier or to spend less and save more, usually by January 12th most people that picked these along with lots of other mini goals will either be half-way through a takeaway or sporting the new outfit they just bought. However, setting one main goal will give you the focus and drive all into one area which gives you more of a chance of succeeding in it.
Plan before New Year’s:
If you waited until New Year’s Eve when you are on your 4th glass of prosecco, the chances are you will not be in the right frame of mind to come up with any decent resolutions that will actually benefit you. A resolution that has any chance of getting completed, needs to be planned in advance, if you are starting gym you need your membership sorted, if you are trying to save more, a savings account might be useful, make sure it’s not a last minute commitment.
Making goals for your goals:
Although by now you are probably sick of the word goals, don’t worry it will make sense in the rest of the paragraph. Having a main goal is a good start, but this is the end result and not how you need to get there. If your goal is to lose 3 stone in weight, it will obviously take a bit of time to get there which is why you need goals in the middle. Think of how many times you will go to the gym in the first week compared to the 3rd or 4th, if you want to make progress each week, try achieving a goal by the end of each week. This is one way to keep you motivated and get you to the finish line. Don’t forget to treat yourself at the end!
Keeping people up to date:
Before you get any ideas I don’t mean start being that one friend on Facebook who gives us an hour by hour update on how quitting smoking is going, when in reality they are writing the post whilst they are writing the post while smoking. Start off by telling your friends and family what your goal is, the chances are they will help keep you motivated or just generally give assistance. It is no good saying you’ll eat healthier when your family don’t know, you will end up getting meals you really don’t need. So, keeping everyone close up to date will have a positive impact on your resolution.
Writing your plan down:
Having a written plan will make it easier to stick to a routine; if you have planned each week then it will make it easier when that time comes. There will be nothing worse than not knowing what to do on a particular day as you will find yourself lost and then de-motivated. Also, within this plan it is good to make challenging yet realistic targets, the words ‘challenging’ and ‘realistic’ are very key in this situation, because you want to push yourself to get there, yet make sure that the hurdle is not too high, as if you don’t get over it you may end up being too scared to jump again. So, write it all down and stick to what you write and you’ll be one of the minority who carry out their resolution.
Good luck on your journey!
The last thing to say is a big Happy New Year from all of us at Elizabeth Norman International.