Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s Eve. I’m super excited for a new year, I love that feeling of a fresh start. And just like many people, I also have goals for this new year, which is exactly what I want to write about today.
Setting goals for the new year is the easy part. The hard part is actually sticking to those New Year’s resolutions. So today, I’m sharing a few tips on how to stay consistent with your goals. Maybe instead of being harder on ourselves, we need to change our approach.
How to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions This Year
Focus on one habit at a time
I also have more than one habit I’d like to change this year. But instead of working on all of them at the same time, I’ve decided to change my approach and focus on just two habits first.
Of course, I could try to change everything at once, but that would probably become overwhelming. I also want to be kind to myself, so I chose the habits that matter most to me and decided to focus on those two for at least a month until they start to feel natural and become part of my routine.
Yes, it means it will take more time to change all of my habits, but I think it’s the smarter approach. When you try to change too many things at once, you’re more likely to feel overwhelmed and give up. By focusing on just one or two habits, everything feels much more manageable.
Give it time before adding more
It can take a while before a new routine truly becomes a habit. I understand that if you’re not happy with your life right now, you might want to change everything at once. But slow progress is still progress.
On average, it takes around 70 days for a new routine to become a habit and sometimes it takes even longer. That’s completely okay. Give yourself time. Allow yourself to get used to your new routines, without pressure or guilt.
Ask yourself Why
Ask yourself why you want to adopt this new habit. Some people do it for the wrong reasons, and that makes it much harder to stick to those habits.
For example, someone might want to lose weight because they care too much about other people’s opinions. Doing it for someone else is not the right reason. You should do it for yourself because you want to feel better, stronger, or healthier, or because it will make your life easier and better.
Reflect
Take time once a week to reflect. How is it going? Change isn’t easy, so don’t beat yourself up if you skip a day. What matters is that you show up for yourself again the next day.
Or maybe you wanted to exercise more and started working out in the morning, but you realized that time doesn’t work for you and it’s easier to work out after work or school. That’s okay, adjust your routine to make it easier for yourself. Or maybe you discovered that running isn’t your favorite thing. You can always find a different sport that you actually enjoy.
You don’t have to follow the same path as everyone else.
Remind Yourself
Put reminders everywhere to remind yourself of your new habits and routines. Change the background on your phone to something that reminds you of your goal, or set an alarm. Put notes on the fridge or on the mirror.
You need these reminders because you’ve been doing the same things for years, often on autopilot. Now you have to consciously remind yourself to do things differently. It will get easier over time.
Celebrate
Did you stick to your new habits or routine for a month? Celebrate it. Buy yourself something nice, it can even be related to your new habits. For example, if you started working out, you could treat yourself to a new sports shirt after a month. Or buy something you’ve really been wanting. It’s totally up to you.
You can also treat yourself to an experience, like going to the cinema to watch a movie.
Photo by Felix Rostig on Unsplash