Happy New Years... resolution. How to mould it and how to keep it!
Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits! But for me I try every year to make one change that I feel will improve my life and after a few epic fails I have learned a thing or two about keeping a NYE resolution.
The number one reason people don’t keep their New Year’s work resolutions is because we set goals that are either too big or vague.
So a good course of action after deciding on a resolution is to break it up into small, bite sized (pardon the pun) and realistic mini-goals that will help you meet that larger goal. Prioritise one or two actions every three months that will help you meet the ultimate goal. That way, the resolution seems less intimidating, and rewarding yourself for completing those smaller tasks along the way will help you stay motivated.
Experts recommend two thought exercises to help you decide which resolutions are most important to you.
The first is making a list: Start with a brain dump of all the things you would like to achieve and then edit that list down to five.
The other exercise is called the “best self visualization”: Picture yourself a year into the future. Then ask yourself the following questions:
What am I doing?
Who am I with?
How do I feel?
It can be really hard to keep resolutions on your own, but bringing a friend or mentor into the mission can make it a bit of craic and it will mean that its not just all a struggle with yourself. Maybe get the friend to share their goal with you. People with ‘accountability partners’ are 65% more likely to reach their goals.
Experts say it takes about 21 days for a new activity to become a habit and six months for it to become part of your personality. It won’t happen overnight, so be persistent and patient! If you have totally run out of steam when it comes to keeping your resolution by mid-February, don’t hate yourself and quit all together…. simply start again! Recommit yourself for 24 hours. You can do anything for 24 hours. The 24-hour increments will soon build on each other and, before you know it, you will be back on track!
Good luck and here’s to hoping that you have a positive and better 2022 that 2021 was for most of us!