The new year is a marker for change and an opportunity to start afresh. There’s something enticing about the idea of reinventing ourselves and making essential improvements in our lives that we try so hard to incorporate new positive rituals. However, more often than not, within the first month, not less than 90% of these New Year’s resolutions are abandoned.
Perhaps it’s a lack of motivation or maybe it was because of the way these resolutions were framed. Whatever excuses that you may come up with, here are three tips that will help you successfully attain your New Year goals.
TIP #1: WORK ON WHAT IS ALREADY PRESENT
Many of us are quick to come up with new positive routines thinking that it would be the magic cure to our lives, underestimating the power of avoiding negative habits. The reality, however, is that a set of optimistic rituals rarely unfolds its full power unless you let go of the negative behaviours in your day to day life.
The small decisions that we make daily would impact our everyday lives and hold us back from becoming our best selves. In other words, starting a weekend workout routine does not guarantee that you are living a healthier life if you spend your Mondays to Fridays sitting at your desk. Instead, try to think of simple changes you can make for your health like taking the stairs, getting up every hour for simple stretching exercises or, going for a walk at lunch. Gradually you will find that these little things add up to a healthier lifestyle.
TIP #2: KNOW WHAT DO YOU NOT KNOW ABOUT YOUR RESOLUTION
It is always good to find out what you don’t know.
If your New Year's resolution is to improve your temper, find the reasons behind it and look for alternative ways to release that build up. In the case of struggling to control one’s anger, it is often due to the misunderstanding of constructive criticism as a challenge to your authority or capability. When you understand that aggression is an indistinctive response to anger, you will be able to better confront the root cause of the problem and figure out a solution.
Instead of yelling and resorting to violence, try a healthier coping method like going for a run to sweat the tension away. Whether you are a corporate leader or a stay home mum, working on better expressing yourself will definitely be highly beneficial to yourself and the people around you, leading to better relations and performance!
TIP #3: TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
Documenting every little success of your daily wins plays a more important role than just ensuring that you are on the right track. It also acts as a motivation to keep you striving for the ultimate goal. As time goes by, you will recognize the motivating factors that keep you going and change becomes easier.
Having a plan on how and when to tick off those goals can also reduce the feeling of dissonance and overwhelm from trying to change everything overnight. Make your time count and stay conscious of how you spend your time. Remember, time has a wonderful way of guiding us. As you follow through a system, success becomes easier.
You now have the basics to start planning for your New Year’s resolution. Make it realistic and seize every opportunity for self-reflection. The end goal is to improve over time and gain confidence in yourself. As the law of attraction states, whatever you put your mind and energy on will come back to you. Start the year with positive energy by doing good and you will see good things coming your way.
