Find Resolve With Your Resolutions

How do you keep your New Year's resolutions consistent throughout the year?

At the end of every year, millions of people look to start the following year off fresh with what we all know as New Year’s Resolution. This resolve to change something at the beginning of every year is what researched have coined the “fresh start effect.”

Often times you hear of friends and family resolving to change their eating or workout routines or kicking bad habits to the curb in an effort to lose weight or improve their health. Sometimes it’s a movement for better mental health in an effort to find pure happiness again. Other times, it’s goal setting, whether it be in a career or personal setting. Whatever it is, the end goal is always the same – we hope to grow in some capacity.

The hardest part about setting a lofty goal at the beginning of the year?

That’s right.

Sticking to it.

We’ve come up with a few helpful tips to keep you on track to keep up with your New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Create realistic goals. For example, if your goal is to ‘workout more,’ instead of leaving it as such a broad goal, try looking at it with more ‘bite-size’ pieces. If you are someone who is used to working out 3-4 times a month for 30 minutes, make a goal of twice a week for 45 minutes...etc.
2. Be Specific. In addition to deciding on the cadence of your resolution, you may also want to stop and think about how you define it. Another example that uses ‘working out’ as the resolution would be to define your workout goals. Does this mean lifting weights 2 times a week for 45 minutes is the new goal? Trying a new virtual workout? Getting in 10,000 steps a day? The more detail you can include in your resolution, the better chance you have for sticking to a plan.
3. Plan it out. If you’d like to increase the cadence of your resolution, try planning it out with a fun new planner, or by jotting down a timeframe in your phone.
4. Limit your resolutions. If you start every year off with multiple large scaled resolutions, this can become overwhelming and ultimately discouraging, often times resulting in a failed attempt.
5. Include others. If you are setting a big for yourself, don’t be afraid to share with others. Sometimes having a loved one check in on you and your goals is all the encouragement we need.
6. Get excited. If the idea of starting your New Year’s Resolution feels daunting, find a way to spice it up! For example, if your resolution is to spend more time meditating, maybe you treat yourself to a new cushion set. Or, if your goal is to train for a marathon, maybe all you need is a fresh new playlist or podcast that gets you excited to get out there and run. Find the silver linings in every resolution to keep yourself motived.
7. Give yourself grace. If you miss a day, or even a week, it’s never too late to return to that resolution that once had you fired up. All it takes is a little shift in mindset, and a reminder of the 6 other steps above.

Often times it’s our subconscious mind that keeps us from reaching our goals, meaning if you set a goal for yourself without truly believing you can meet it, you’ve already failed.

By following the steps above and continuing to remind yourself that ‘you can do this,’ you already increase your chances for success.

2021 is a fresh start for all of us, and we hope you crush every goal you set out to do!