New Year's Resolutions: How to Keep Them

It’s that time of year again, when we all resolve to better ourselves by changing something in our lives. Setting a New Year's resolution is a common practice for nearly everyone, but very few people actually see their resolutions through to fruition. Here are a few tips to help you make better resolutions and actually keep them.

Be Realistic:

Be realistic with both the goals you set and the amount of goals you set.  If your goal is to sprout wings and fly to Jupiter, let's face it, it’s probably not going to happen. However, if your goal is simply to fly (be it in a plane, a glider, helicopter, etc.), then this is much more attainable. Also, don’t overwhelm yourself with so many goals to make a “new you” that you can’t possibly handle all of them.  It's better to set one goal, or maybe a few attainable goals that are successive steps towards a larger long term goal. 

Be Specific:

Don’t be vague with your resolution. A vague resolution means a vague path to get there, meaning you’ll do a lot of “wandering”. Setting a specific goal means you can set specific, quantifiable benchmarks along the way to act as both a check for your progress and as motivational boosts whenever you complete one. For example, don't say "I want to lose weight", instead say "I'm going to loose ___ lbs by ___ date and here are the steps I'm going to use to get there."

Set goals for the right reasons:

Make a resolution because you actually want to change something not just because all of your friends are wanting to. Setting goals without the proper motivation behind it will only result in giving up when things get tough.

Mark your calendar:

Set benchmarks, think of them as mini-goals along the way to your full resolution. These smaller goals will make the overall resolution a much more manageable thing and make it seem a much less daunting task. 

Tell your friends and family:

Things are going to get tough on the road to your resolution, whatever it may be. Somewhere along the way, you will need a support group to help push you through the rough patch. Also, friends and family knowing about your resolution means 1.) you have someone to hold you accountable. This gives you all the more reason to try to succeed 2.) They will be less likely to unknowingly put added pressure on your resolution.

These guidelines won't guarantee success in achieving your New Year's resolution, but they will definitely help to keep you on the right track. Have any more tips? Leave them in the comment section below!