How to Keep Up with Your New Year’s Resolutions

Most people make New Year’s Resolutions as a way to set a goal for themselves. That’s the easy part. Unfortunately, sticking to these resolutions has proven difficult for most of us. Because the New Year often symbolizes new beginnings, people stick to their resolutions for a few weeks or months before falling off and giving up. This year, you don’t have to quit when it gets too difficult to keep your resolutions. Here’s how you can keep up with your New Year’s resolutions. 

Choose a Specific Goal

While you can have and achieve a vague resolution, it’s much easier to keep your resolution when it’s a specific goal. For example, you may want to read more books. By giving yourself a reasonable number of books to read in the next year, you’ll set yourself up for success. Setting a specific goal also allows you to track your progress so that you don’t fall behind. 

Let’s consider one of the most common New Year’s resolutions: weight loss. Many people resolve to lose weight in the next year, allowing them to feast ravenously during the holidays then diet afterward. Unfortunately, many people fail at this resolution. Setting a specific weight loss goal can help you achieve it. For example, you may resolve to lose 20 pounds instead of just telling yourself that you’re going to lose weight. 

Plan for Success

The next part of keeping your resolution is to plan for its success. Don’t simply make a resolution with no plan of action. If you resolve to lose weight, make a list of all of the ways you can achieve that goal, like improving your eating habits, how often you’ll work out, and how you can track the results. 

In this plan, include any items you might need to purchase to help you achieve your desired results. For example, you might need to purchase fitness accessories or a yoga mat. You may also want to include a budget for your plan of action. While you can lose weight without spending any money, you should always think about your personal finances if you think you need to purchase items. That being said, your budget shouldn’t be huge. To achieve your resolutions, make sure that you’re only spending money on what you believe is absolutely necessary. Make sure to include in your budget any additional expenses like the best workout shoes you can find and plan for recurring expenses like a gym membership. 

Next, your plan should include how you will measure your results. A fitness tracker can help you track your results daily, weekly, and monthly so that you can continue to stay motivated through your weight loss journey. 

Remember that while our example focuses on weight loss as the New Year’s resolution, your plan should include budgeting, items to purchase, and how you will track your results. If your goal is to save five thousand dollars this year, you can include all of your plan’s same aspects for success. 

Limit Your Number of Resolutions 

While you may have so many things that you want to accomplish in one year, it’s best to limit your resolutions to just one or two so that you can focus on these goals. This will also help you avoid conflicting resolutions. For example, you may want to buy a house this year while saving a certain amount of money. If you look at a personal finance app, you may see that it’s not possible to spend money on a large down payment while trying to simultaneously save five thousand dollars while trying to lose weight. Focusing on one goal at a time can help you achieve your goals faster because you’re not spreading yourself too thin. 

Learn From the Past

If your resolution is something that you’ve failed at in the past, try to remember what stopped you from succeeding that you can avoid it. If you were trying to lose weight and failed because you started stress eating, learn how to use healthy foods to cope with stress instead of chips or desserts. Learning from past mistakes isn’t easy, but you can see a clear path towards success by examining them. 

Featured Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay