BY: JESSICA BEUKER
It’s the same vicious cycle every year – make a new year’s resolution, keep at it for two weeks, break it, go back to what you were doing before. This year will be different, you think, as you’re already half way into your old habits. If anything, we should all be making resolutions not to break our new year’s resolutions.
Below are 5 ways to make sure you keep your new year’s resolutions this year. Even Madeline Merlo agrees. “My New Years resolution is to start practicing yoga,” Merlo says. “And the key to keeping resolutions is to be organized, make goals and follow through!”
1. Don’t go too broad
Every single year I make the same resolution to be healthier. I’ve come to realize that it’s an absurd resolution because it’s way too broad. There are a million different ways that you can “be healthier”, and by making an overall blanket resolution I’m doing nothing except setting myself up for failure. What happens when I go out out for one too many beers at my best friend’s birthday party? Or skip the gym because I’m having a bad day? As soon as one little thing goes wrong, the whole resolution goes down the drain and so I might as well not stick to it at all. A better resolution would be to narrow down what I really want to achieve. Maybe I want to start taking the stairs instead of the escalator. Or maybe I vow to eat vegan once a week. Or maybe I want to go for a run three times a week. Leaving myself flexibility will make sure I don’t fail and then throw the resolution out altogether.
2. Don’t go too big
Much like the first one, making too big of a resolution, or too many at once, is also a sure-fire way to fail. Sure, we all want to lose weight, and get a promotion, and volunteer, and travel more and put more effort into our relationships, but trying to do all of those things at once is only going to make you feel exhausted and run down. Instead, pick one thing, focus all of your energy on that, and once you’ve achieved your goal, move on to something new.
3. Get a resolution buddy
Nothing is more motivating than watching everyone else around you succeed at their own goals. Pick a friend who also has a resolution and every week or so, check in with one another and keep each other on track. I personally am more likely to stick with something if there is some sort of accountability. As long as my friend is doing their resolution, I don’t want to look bad for abandoning mine. This feeling goes both ways, which will keep you both in check.
4. Make a vision board or write stuff down
Scoff all you want, but vision boards work. There is evidence that our brains function differently when we are exposed to things in a visual way. You don’t have to get out the magazines and scissors and make an elaborate collage if that’s not your thing (although it is super fun). Even writing down your goals on a piece of paper and hanging it on your fridge where you can see them everyday is a beneficial way to light a fire under your butt. Reminding yourself of what you want, everyday, is a great way to motivate yourself to get it.
5. Don’t beat yourself up
We all fail. It’s a natural part of life. But failing doesn’t mean you give up and move on to something else that’s easier. No, it simply means you try again, or come at it from a different direction. If your new year’s resolution is to drink less, don’t get mad at yourself every time you have a drink. Breaking habits takes time and baby steps. And it also requires you to be kind to yourself.
