Easy tips to help you keep your new year’s resolutions
New year’s resolutions, Every year, millions of people make New Year resolutions. The resolutions are a combination of the things they want to do and habits they want to stop. Unfortunately, over 85 percent of these resolutions are not fulfilled. Those that fulfill the resolutions only fulfill one or two from a long list of resolutions. Resolutions have a great impact on your personal development and living a quality life. Therefore, it is in your best interest to fulfill them.
Are you wondering how to keep your new year’s resolutions going forward? Here are some tips
Make your goals specific
Most of the resolutions are too broad and vague to measure the progress. For example, if you want to lose weight, do not make a resolution that you are going to get in shape. Rather define your intended weight, how much fat you plan to burn and anything else that you wish to do. Use the classic SMART goal making system for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals.
Measure your progress from to time
The only way to change things is to measure how far you are going at changing them. The feedback you get from measuring your success will be the source of motivation to achieving more success. Measuring your progress also prevents you from diverting from your resolutions and get back to line before it gets late.
Keep your resolutions few and simple
This is how to keep your new year’s resolutions from the start; select a few resolutions that you can handle within the year. Do not be overambitious and list a hundred things to achieve at once. Although there should be a challenge to get you to put effort, complex and very many resolutions will only demoralize you.
Pick goals with the greatest impact in your life
The point above, we have talked about picking a few resolutions that you can handle within the year. It is good to make a list of all the things that you would love to do. However, pick the resolutions that have the greatest impact on your life, health, finances, and happiness. Where possible, do not pick two resolutions from one category. Here is an example; you may give up smoking to improve your health and start a small business to improve your income.
Break the goals down to ‘manageable chunk’
This is one of the biggest tip on how to keep your new year’s resolutions. You not likely to achieve any success on your goals on the first day. Most of the resolutions are monumental tasks, which have to be completed in parts. Therefore, pick you goal and cut it down to chunks that you can manage in your day to day. These chunks are smaller goals that lead to the big goal.
Here is an example: If you plan to save $3,600 by the end of the year, look at how much you earn in a month. Let us say $1000. Look at your expenses and determine how much you save in a month. To hit the mark, you must save $300 on average every month. You can now adjust your expenses to hit this figure.
Do not beat yourself up when you slip
Do not be obsessed with hitting your goal that you get depressed when you make a slip. This is the reason why you have a ‘measure’ at hand. It helps you determine if you are in line with your goals and make an adjustment. However, crying over a missed deadline will drain you of the energy for your next goal.
Plan plan plan
Do not expect things to fall in place. You have to make them work for you. One way to achieve this is to plan. Keep a diary of activities you need to accomplish a long with the time and place you want accomplish them. This will make you time efficient and avoid missing critical activities in your plan.
Reward yourself
The human mind like to be appreciated. Use this power to motivate yourself to achieve more within the year. Reward yourself after reaching important milestones in life. You could go to a movie, eat out, buy yourself a gift, or upgrade your car. However, ensure that you do not put your goal into jeopardy with your ‘treats’. If you are trying to lose weight, avoid eating junk as a treat.
Make notes
Making notes is good physical reminder of your focus. Write you resolutions down, what you achieve, your challenges, and what you are doing about them. Take pictures of the goals that you have achieved. It can be a screenshot of your bank balance or an image of your slimmer self. Notes are an easy way to keep reenergizing yourself when you feel like going down.
This is how to keep your new year’s resolutions throughout the year!
