Every year, as the calendar flips to January, we all get a fresh start and feel motivated to make changes. This feeling leads millions of people to set exciting New Year’s resolutions. The energy at the start is always high, but if we are honest, most of those goals start to fade away around February or March. This isn’t because the goals were bad, it’s just that the plan to stick to them wasn’t strong enough. Sticking to your resolution is about using a few simple and smart strategies that turn a wish into a solid habit.
Have Clear Goals
Make your goals as specific and clear as possible; it makes successfully completing them so much easier! Don’t say something generic, such as, “I’ll be more healthy.” Instead, try, “I will walk for 15 minutes after school every day.” This clear goal is easy to see and track, which makes it much easier to actually do. You also feel a much bigger sense of accomplishment, since you will have completed exactly what you set out to do.
Break It Up
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with how much you wish to accomplish or complete this year. An easy way to defeat this feeling is to break the big goal into very small steps. For example, if your goal is to read more, start with one page a day. This way, each day holds a small but progressive portion of your goal that will allow you to eventually complete it, but not all at once. Starting super small will allow you to focus on one thing at a time and build towards your goal.
Sharing Your Goal
Tell someone about your goal. Whether it’s your family or a friend, it’s so much easier to quit if your resolution is a secret. When someone else knows, you feel more like you have to show up and try, which helps you stay motivated. You don’t want the people you care about to feel disappointed in you, so knowing that someone else is aware of the goals you set will push you to not give up.
A Time and A Place
To make a habit stick, you need to give it a time and a place. If you decide exactly when and where your goal will happen, it stops being just an idea and becomes a real part of your normal routine. It also eliminates the time you may spend trying to figure out when to fit it in every day. This planning makes it much harder to skip later on, and gives your life more organization that may continue for years to come.
It’s Okay to Mess Up
Finally, remember that you will mess up sometimes. If you skip a day, or forget to complete a goal, don’t give up on everything! We’re all human and humans mess up. Instead of looking at the mistake with disappointment, be motivated by it to become better. This should inspire you to do that much better tomorrow, and not mess up again.
Keeping your New Year’s resolution isn’t about giant leaps, but about making many small, planned steps. Remember to be patient and kind to yourself when things don’t go perfectly, everyone makes mistakes. Motivation is your best friend, so use it to push yourself. If you focus on being consistent, not perfect, you can make your goals stick long past the first few months of the year and truly make a lasting change. By December, your goals will be checked off, and your journey to becoming a better person will be complete!
