7 Strategies For Creating New Year’s Resolutions That Aren’t Doomed To Fail
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Here we are—it’s almost that time of the year again! It’s time to make our New Year’s Resolutions. We all know how this goes—we set big goals while we feel motivated and inspired…and then a few months later, we’ve lost all our steam and have completely forgotten about them. If you feel like this describes your experience with creating resolutions, you are certainly not alone. So many of us make goals that are difficult to achieve for a variety of reasons.
For instance, our goals could be too broad. It could also be that they are too overwhelming or too unrealistic. If we can’t measure our progress, we quickly lose motivation and inspiration and fall headfirst into a never-ending cycle of disappointment and discouragement. Well, that ends here! This year, let’s make doable resolutions we can actually keep! These are some of my favorite tips that are sure to help you create meaningful, achievable New Year’s Resolutions for 2023.
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Here are the strategies you need to set achievable New Year’s Resolutions for 2023
Start Small & Be Realistic in Setting Achievable New Year’s Resolutions
It is often tempting to make big, sweeping resolutions like “lose 20 pounds by June” or “save $10,000 by December.” But these kinds of goals are often unrealistic and incredibly hard to achieve. If your resolution is too broad, you may feel discouraged when you aren’t meeting your goal as quickly as you’d like. Cutting one big resolution down in several bite-sized steps is one way you can strive for success. Try breaking your goal into smaller chunks that you can tackle one at a time. For example, you may want to commit to going on a walk every day or resolving to check in with your budget every single month. These smaller steps will help you stay focused and motivated while working towards your achievable New Year’s Resolutions.
Be Specific & Set Deadlines
When creating your resolutions, it is important to make sure that they are specific and measurable. This makes it easier for you to track your progress along the way and celebrate your successes as they come along. Let’s say you have a goal of eating healthier—great! But what does that really mean? Simply saying you’re going to eat healthier is a broad goal that might sound impossible to reach. Instead, you might try setting a goal of replacing one unhealthy snack per day with a piece of fruit or a veggie by April 1st. Having a specific timeline will help you track your progress and hold yourself accountable. If you don’t meet your deadline, don’t beat yourself up—just reassess and reset if need be.
Keep Yourself Accountable
Making changes to your lifestyle is hard work, and it can sometimes be difficult to hold yourself to your goals. Having someone who will hold you accountable (in addition to yourself) can make all the difference in achieving those big dreams! Find an accountability partner or join a group or online community where people can provide you with feedback. You can receive constructive criticism or positive reinforcement from others, as well as hear about their struggles and success stories. Surrounding yourself with encouraging people can have a huge effect on your level of motivation, and that kind of support system is invaluable when it comes to staying on track with your achievable New Year’s Resolutions.
Reinforce Your Resolutions with Positive Self-Talk
One key factor in staying focused and achieving your goals is positive self-talk. It may sound hard to believe, but positive affirmations can help boost your self-confidence and motivation levels more than you might think, even when you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed by what lies ahead of you. Try reminding yourself of why this goal matters to you and how proud you’ll be when you achieve it! Tell yourself that anything is possible with hard work—and mean it!
Set Rewards for Reaching Milestones in Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions
Another way to work towards your goals is to reward yourself along the way. You can keep it simple—it could be something small like taking an extra-long bubble bath after completing five days of early morning workouts or treating yourself to a dinner out after reaching your savings goal. Celebrating each individual victory helps keep up momentum while providing new motivation for tackling future challenges!
Take Breaks When You Need Them
Life happens—sometimes things come up that can get in the way of our plans even when we’re trying desperately not to let them derail us entirely. That’s ok! Give yourself permission to take breaks when needed without feeling guilty about it. Taking a pause to reflect, reanalyze, and possibly even reset can help you stay focused on your goal, even when it’s difficult. Just remember that these breaks should be short-lived, so get back on track as soon as possible. Start with baby steps if necessary and work your way up from there until you reach your ultimate goal.
Focus on Progress, Not Perfection
Perfectionism can kill progress faster than anything else. It’s important to keep in mind we can be our own worst critics. Don’t worry about doing everything perfectly right away; focus instead on making incremental improvements over time until you reach where you want to be. Celebrate each and every step forward, no matter how small it may seem. They all add up quickly in the end!
Keeping New Year’s Resolutions doesn’t have to seem impossible this year. Use these strategies as guidelines to set realistic and achievable goals that will actually stick around past February 1st! Remember that even though change takes effort, patience, and dedication, it brings us closer towards becoming our best selves in this upcoming year. The hard work required to achieve goals is worth it in the end! Cheers to 2023 being our most productive year yet!
