How to Reestablish Your New Year’s Resolutions with Realistic Goals
Each January we reflect on December’s endless rounds of holiday parties and cookie exchanges, and hone in on how to make our New Year’s resolutions count. And despite the fact that nearly half of Americans make New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of each year, only ten percent follow through with their goals through the entire year — which means many of us have already fallen off the wagon and broken our resolutions only a few days into 2018.
The start of the New Year is the perfect time to turn a new page in the book of life. If you’ve struggled to meet your resolution milestones in the past, it’s probably because you’re skipping key steps that help you create resolutions that last. Here are a few simple tips to get you back on track to achieving your resolutions:
1. Get Specific
Get back on track by reframing your vague resolutions to be more specific, and therefore more achievable.
Stay away from vague resolutions like: “I am going to lose weight this year.” Instead, reset your targets to be more specific, for example: “I am going to lose 10 pounds by December.” In this example, setting a specific weight loss goal with a deadline can help keep you motivated and track your progress throughout the calendar year.
2. Make Each Day Count
Change is not easy and it does not happen overnight. Once you have made your realistic, specific resolution, set small goals with a weekly or daily target along the way. This is particularly helpful because it allows you to track your progress and ultimately will aid to your overall success.
Perhaps your New Year’s resolution was around mindfulness. To get back on track, set smaller targets to meditate regularly. For example, start with weekly targets to meditate two days a week and increase your weekly targets from there.
When you are successful with any goal, no matter how small, you will start to gain confidence in your ability to achieve your goal long term.
3. Accountability is Key
When you have accountability for sticking with your resolution you are more likely to do it. Share your resolution with friends, family, or colleagues and have them hold you accountable. There is power in numbers.
If accountability is hard for you, don’t forget about community. Reset your goals by getting a group of coworkers to join you in a healthy eating challenge. At FLIK Hospitality Group, we recommend swapping out savory morning glory muffins for popcorn with sea salt, or choosing fresh fruit to curb your sugar craving instead of a chocolate bar.
Don’t forget about your resources, too! There are many online health and wellness groups out there that can help you set goals and keep you on track. Apps like MyFitnessPal are great tools to helping track your exercise progress or Headspace to log your daily meditation session. By tracking your progress, even in a notebook, you’ll hold yourself more accountable and this will serve as a weekly or even daily check-ins to keep you going.
January is a great time to reset and focus on your health and wellness. If you get off track with your New Year’s resolution don’t give up; healthy habits can start all year.
*Originally appeared in Thrive Global on January 17, 2018.