How to stick to your New Year Resolutions?

It’s a global problem – we set our New Year’s Resolution at the start of every year, we try to stick to it, but fall short and let it go. Sounds familiar? A study done by the University of Scranton says only 8 percent of people actually achieve their New Year’s resolutions. Why is this number so less? And why do the rest 92 percent of us not achieve our resolutions? The reasons might be numerous – we might have set unrealistic goals or vague goals, or we might not be motivated enough to work towards them. There’s all year to ponder upon this, but for now, let’s focus on how we can achieve our resolutions this year. 

Of course, resolutions are hard to keep. It’s difficult to work diligently towards a target you set for yourself. But here’s the good thing – we can always try. This is a new year and we have a set for new resolutions. Let’s work together to achieve them this year. Here are a few ways you can stick to your new year resolutions – 

Be specific with your resolutions

Many of the times, we set goals for ourselves but they turn out to be too unrealistic or vague – so much so that we can’t even identify if we have achieved it. It can slow you down or eat away your motivation to work towards your resolutions. Solution to this? – Be specific! Set specific goals with achievable milestones and trackable timeline. By doing this, you will be able to know how much closer you are to your goal and also identify what’s lacking and why you weren’t able to achieve them earlier. 

Take small steps towards your goals everyday

Achieving any goal is not easy. It takes months to reach a summit and years of training to climb. Everyday is an opportunity – so don’t waste your days. Take small and gradual steps towards your goals everyday. Figure out what skills you need to move towards your objective, self-reflect, identify your loopholes, correct them, make a plan. And it’s okay if you fall behind on some days – little by little, you will get there!

Make a timeline and monitor your progress periodically

One of the major steps to achieving your goal is being aware of your progress and acknowledging it. To do that, you need to make a timeline that will help you monitor your progress. By when do you want to achieve your resolution? What needs to be done to do so? What could be some major milestone of achieving your goal? Figure it out and add them to your timeline. But don’t keep the timeline aside once you make it – monitor it regularly and keep it flexible to changes. 

Reward yourself for reaching a milestone

Once you identify your milestones and add it to the timeline, it will be easier for you to work towards them. It will also prevent you from beating yourself too much for not reaching the goal soon enough – and give you the hope that you are in fact, getting there. So, what do you do once you reach your milestones? Celebrate them. Reward yourself! You’re getting closer. It’s worth celebrating!

Be patient with yourself

We can be super hard on ourselves. We can be our worst critics. But that’s not always healthy. You can’t force success out of you. Patience is mandatory. Be patient with yourself. Give yourself time. Take time to self-reflect and don’t shy away from taking some down time

It can be daunting to set resolutions knowing that we have a history of not following through with them, but let’s try again this year – and let’s try these aforementioned tips. Let’s see if we get there this year!