Many people, probably yourself included, have already made, or are in the process of making their New Year’s resolutions. Whether it’s to exercise more, eat better or get a new hobby, everyone wants to make 2019 their best year yet. But, despite so many people making them every year, resolutions are notoriously hard to stick to. By the time the next year rolls around, most people already gave up on their resolutions 50 weeks prior. So, in this post, I’m going to be giving you ways to ACTUALLY stick to your resolutions and make amazing, positive changes in your life in 2019!
- Don’t Call Them Resolutions
The ironic thing about the word ‘resolutions’ is that over time the word has become associated with GIVING UP on your ambitions and hopes instead of making good change. So, in order to set yourself up in the best way, scrap ‘resolutions’, and instead call them goals or objectives – it’s essentially the same, but doesn’t come with the same negative connotations.
2. Be VERY Realistic
Promising to make big, drastic change in your life is rarely ever actually going to work out. It’s far better to make a goal that you are almost certain you can achieve – then, once you do achieve it, set yourself a new goal to do a bit more. Then, you get the satisfaction of achieving one of your objectives AND you go above and beyond what you promised. This will then motivate you to eventually conquer your big goal.
3. Be Specific
The Universe loves specificity – saying you ‘want to lose weight’ is a good starting point, but saying you’d like to lose 20 pounds will be far more beneficial. Having a definite, certain number gives you something to measure and work on, which motivates you more than just aiming for a general area.
4. Remember Your WHY
The best motivator when you feel as though you can’t go through with your goal is to remember why you started. Make a list of what achieving your goal would mean for you; how it would change your life, the things you could do, the places you could go. Inspire yourself by looking at pictures of people you admire or houses you’d like to buy. Once you remind yourself of all the possibilities, you’ll want to get straight to work!
5. Hold Yourself Accountable
Having a friend or running buddy to discuss your goals with is an essential – they can pick you up when you feel low or unmotivated, offer emotional support and give you unlimited pep talks. Also, when you actually tell someone what you hope to achieve there is a little more pressure on yourself to actually do it because people hate to feel like they’re letting someone down or not sticking by their word.
6. Change Your Resolution Instead of Giving Up
If you have come to a dead end with your goal, whether it doesn’t align with your purpose anymore or it’s making you feel low, there is nothing wrong with altering it a little to make it more attainable. Perhaps you wanted to lose a stone before your friend’s wedding in the summer but personal or family trouble has taken over your life for the past 3 months – instead of beating yourself up, accept that sometimes life gets in the way, and just aim to do your best with what you have, even if it means halving your goal.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and it’s helped you see resolutions a little differently! Hopefully now they don’t seem quite as scary or unattainable. Let me know what resolution or goal you have for 2019 down below! Happy New Year!
