How to Create New Year’s Resolutions That Sticks
With a new year fast approaching, you’ve likely thought of some changes that need to be made in your life. These ‘resolutions’ define your goals, provide you with direction and inspiration, and help you better plan the use of your time and finances for 2019. Before drafting your list and purchasing new workout gear, there are some things you should do ahead of time to prepare you for success. The first is to get very clear about why you want to do things differently in the first place because it will be a driving factor in your future endeavors.
To create New Year’s resolutions that stick, you’re going to want to do the following:
Determine your desired feeling for the year.
Allow it to inspire your actions. Instead of coming up with a million and one ways to ‘improve’ yourself, why not try improving how you feel? Do more of the things that fill your well and less of the things that drain you physically and emotionally. By choosing how you want to feel, you’ve gotten real about why you’re setting goals in the first place. Resolutions feel far less daunting when you’re already reaping the benefits of a good life by feeling better.
Crowd out habits that no longer serve you.
Instead of depriving yourself of treats, limit them in a controlled and successful way. By ‘crowding out’ the things that you need to do or consume in moderation, you have an easier time achieving your goals. For instance, if you want to drink fewer cups of coffee, you start by drinking one additional glass or bottle of water a day. You increase the number of bottles or glasses of water you drink until you’re consuming considerably fewer cups of coffee.
Come up with a rewards system that continues to motivate you.
Everyone likes to receive recognition for a job well done. If you don’t have another person praising your progress, don’t worry! You can easily be your own personal cheerleader by coming up with rewards to give yourself after you’ve achieved a really difficult goal. They don’t even need to cost a lot of money, either, to be effective. Write down things that you’d like to do but never seem to have the time for. Let the rewards that you’ve come up with for yourself help propel you to success.
Don’t go at it alone.
There is power in numbers. Making people aware of the changes that you’re trying to make is liberating. It allows them to be part of your journey actively or passively. They’ll ask how you’re doing with your resolutions and maybe even offer a helping hand whenever you need one. You’ll also be able to share your progress with other people who will celebrate your victories right along with you.
Change the way you approach 2019 by creating resolutions that you’ll actually follow. By defining how you want to feel, you get to the real reason why you want to change. Instead of focusing on the end result, you’ll be more inclined to make changes in your life so you feel better physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, and socially.
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