How To Keep New Year’s Resolutions
2017 is here, and it’s the time to make New Year’s resolutions. Here are some ways to help stick to these plans, once and for all.
More stories from Emily Hanes
People gather in Times Square for New Year’s celebrations.
Every year, millions of Americans make New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of the year, but according to the University of Scranton, less than eight percent of those people actually pursue their goals. To become a part of those elite few, here are some tips to finally accomplish these tasks.
- Make a clear goal
One of the most common phrases/goals that people say they will accomplish is getting in shape. A way to really get in the zone and accomplish this is to set a certain amount of weight, plan everything out and set reasonable goals. Sometimes, the resolutions people make are forgotten about, because they aren’t goals that can be easily accomplished. Start small and build up to accomplish the task.
- Track Progress
Tracking progress of these goals will also help make them more achievable. This allows a timeline to be made so there is an opportunity to look at past progress and how much has already been achieved, and ultimately, to help push to the final goal.
- Have Patience
Progress won’t start right away, so don’t expect to see exact results after only a couple of days of work. There may be a period in which no progress is immediately seen, but have patience. The goal will not be achieved overnight.
- Tell Others
Another important part of keeping a New Year’s resolution is to publicize the goal. That way, more people know about it and will add motivation and accountability to the resolution.
- Plan Rewards
Rewards are another great encouragement to use during the first couple of weeks of working on the resolution. Plan out the rewards accordingly: space them out as the year goes on by going from weekly rewards to monthly ones, and eventually have one planned for the end of the year for all the hard work that has been done.
- Accept Failure
Most of the time, New Year’s resolutions don’t always go as planned, and that’s okay. A way to avoid this is to make a note of what triggered the setback to use as a lesson. Perseverance is an important aspect to being successful in achieving a goal.
- Be Prepared to Change Habits
Finally, one of the main reasons that these resolutions fail is because people don’t change the habits that caused the need for the resolution. A way to fix this is to think of what needs to be changed at the present moment and work from there.
