If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say ‘New Year, New Me!’ I would be such a rich girl. The end of the year is always a great time to reflect on the past year and think about what you accomplished, what you didn’t accomplish, what you wish you had done differently and how you want the upcoming year to be different. New years resolutions are the perfect opportunity for those of you who want to make a positive change in your life and be one step closer to the person you want to become. But lets be honest, new years resolutions can be hard to keep. Here are six tips to help you keep your new years resolutions all year long!
Be Realistic
There are some goals that you can set for yourself that are very realistic, like lose 20 pounds this year or stop eating meat on Mondays. Then there are unrealistic goals you can set for yourself like, participate in Ironman this year, when you have zero training and can’t even run a mile or get my Master’s degree this year, when you haven’t even enrolled in a graduate program. Long term goals are great but if you are coming up with new year’s resolutions, be realistic with yourself. If you want to get your Master’s degree, make your new year’s resolution to enroll in a graduate program. If your long term goal is to compete in Ironman, make your new years resolution to participate in a triathlon.
Don’t Go Overboard
I guarantee you that every person that looks at themselves has a long list of things they wish they could change about themselves. I want to be skinner, I want to eat less sugar, I wish I weren’t so pessimistic, the list goes on and on. The celebration of a new year is a great way to reevaluate your life and make positive changes. Just remember that when you are making resolutions, not to go overboard. Instead of having ten new years resolutions, try five. Having too many resolutions can make you feel stressed because you are trying to accomplish so much and when you don’t complete all of your resolutions you feel like a failure.
Have a Variety of Resolutions
If you’re anything like me, it’s usually go big or go home. But with new years resolutions, I try to ditch that mind set. I do set a large new years resolution or two but I also include some not so big, easier resolutions as well. A great example would be to have a new years resolution to lose 20 pounds and read at least 15 minutes before bed everyday. Losing 20 pounds a lot more time and effort than reading in bed for 15 minutes.
Partner Up
How many new years resolutions have you made in your lifetime? And of those resolutions, how many of them have you actually kept? There is probably a big discrepancy between the two and that’s mostly because life happens. You get busy, off track and next thing you know its only March and you have already given up. A great way to make yourself accountable and keep your new years resolutions is to partner with someone. If you want to go to the gym three times a week, find a friend who goes to the gym or also has the same resolution so you can both keep each other accountable.
Celebrate All Victories
New years resolutions are all about making positive changes in your life and making yourself more of the person you want to be. Just by reevaluating your life and making resolutions, is a reason to celebrate! If your goal is to lose 20 pounds, don’t just celebrate that goal, celebrate when you lose a pound or when you go to the gym three times a week. Eventually all those small victories lead to you reaching your ultimate goal so make sure you celebrate every small victory.
See Them Everyday
A great way to hold yourself accountable is to look at your new years resolutions everyday, even multiple times a day. Doing this makes you think about what you can do that day to work towards your resolution. It also reminds you to keep working towards your goals.