5 Tips to Stick to Your New Years Resolutions
A study from the University of Scranton stated that only 8% of people achieve their New Year resolutions, and sadly, I fall into the 92% of people who don't. BUT this year is going to be different. Recently, I've found a few things that have helped me stay on top of my goals and I hope these tips will help you too!
1. Be realistic & create checkpoints
First and foremost, your resolution needs to be achievable. Don't set yourself up for failure because that's going to demotivate you. Set an end goal and set mini-goals in between (weekly, monthly, etc.). Setting these checkpoints will allow you to track your progress and let you know if you need to push yourself a little harder. If you're hitting your goal at each checkpoint, reward yourself and that will motivate you to keep going until the end of the year.
2. Write down your motivation
Sometimes we lose sight of why we create New Years resolutions, but it's important for us to be intentional with our goals. Write down why you chose to make a certain thing your resolution, what you hope to gain from achieving it, and what your reward at the end of the year will be. Next time you're feeling uninspired, revisit what you wrote and hopefully a fire will reignite inside of you.
3. Schedule it; don’t list it
While it's satisfying to cross things off a list, it's also so easy to push things onto tomorrow (or next weeks) list. The number of things you have to do will seem endless. Though, if you carve out time and schedule everything you need to do, it keeps you accountable for completing each task. Whether your resolution is to exercise more or to have more "me time", put it on your calendar! This way, you can't use the excuse of being "too busy & not having enough time" -- haha I've told myself this too many times.
4. Piggybacking
I recently read The Power of Habit, which explains the neuroscience behind habits and it revolves around the idea of cues and rewards. Essentially, for everything we do, there's a cue that causes us to act upon the habit, so we can gain a reward. What better way to create a new habit than to incorporate it with something we already enjoy? A good example is working out while watching your favorite TV show.
5. Don't give up
I know this is something you hear a lot, but I wanted to include this as a little reminder. Whatever you do, don't quit! Having checkpoints along the way will hopefully keep you on track and reminding yourself about your motivations will inspire you to keep going, I know it's easy to quit when you slip up, but see it as a set back rather than an end all be all. Pick yourself right back up and keep going because it will be so satisfying to complete your New Years resolution and be a part of the 8%!
Happy New Years everyone and wishing you all the best in 2018! What are some of your New Years resolutions?
xo Kerstin