Your New Year's resolution: five easy tips to help you stay on track and reach your goals
Now that the hustle and bustle of the holiday season has come to an end, it’s time to check-in with yourself on your New Year’s resolutions.
Have you been staying on track?
Has it been challenging?
Perhaps you haven’t even begun yet.
Getting motivated can be challenging, but with a few simple goal-setting strategies, you’ll be ready to take on the challenge!
Here are five tips to help you get started:
1. Ask yourself why
Get really clear about your goals, by asking yourself why you’re making them in the first place. Many resolutions fail because the intention is just not clear enough.
For example: maybe you want to focus more on self-care. Why? Because by taking time for yourself, you can actually give more of yourself to others. Self-care is scientifically linked to increased immunity, and makes us less susceptible to stress, depression and anxiety. Loving yourself more, means you can love others even more.
2. Consider adjusting your goal
Instead of saying you want to lose weight, why not set a goal of becoming stronger, developing healthier eating habits, or committing to a regular workout schedule instead. Rapid or unnecessary weight loss can be dangerous and unhealthy. By shifting your frame of mind to a more positive, affirmative action, you won’t beat yourself up about the number on the scale.
3. Track your progress
Bright, vibrant calendars and sticky notes are some great, tactile tools to help you visualize your goals. There are also digital calendars and apps, such as Google Calendar or Cozi, that offer a wide variety of personalized options to meet your needs.
4. Create a rewards system
The easiest way to reach your goals is to make the experience fun! Give yourself a reward for reaching a milestone or completing a task. If your resolution is to tidy up your home, reward yourself as you finish each room. Rewards don’t have to be monetary in value – you could give yourself a week off of instead, or have a night in with friends or family.
5. Focus on one thing
Being overwhelmed with too many resolutions is a sure way to never reach any one of them. By focusing on one goal at a time, you’ll be much more likely to complete it successfully. Studies show that you are 2-3x more likely to follow through if you make a specific plan for: when, where and how. This is known as an implementation intention. But implementation intentions scientifically don’t work if you pursue more than one at a time. Keep in mind that, on average, it takes two months (or 66 days) for new habits to form.
Products to help make your New Year’s resolution a little less daunting:
Getting organized
Health/wellness
