How To Keep New Year Resolutions

Be Realistic: Make an Attainable Goal

Primary reason why most New Year resolutions fail is that people over expect from themselves and make practically unrealistic goals. So a good idea would be to decide your limits and make achievable goals. For instance, a person who plans to go on a dieting should not make a resolution to stop eating his/ her favorite dessert. It is very much likely that the person will not be able to carry on with the resolution for long. A practical approach would be to limit the intake.

Resolve Ahead: Don’t Wait for 31st December

A good way to succeed in your resolution would be to plan ahead. Many people make resolutions on the New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day itself and mostly they do not back their resolution with a concrete plan. So a practical way to go about it would be to resolve ahead and back your resolution with a strategic plan.

Focus on One Resolution

It has been noticed that many people make a list of resolutions and try to achieve too much in too short time. Instead of trying to do everything simultaneously and getting frustrated a practical approach would be to focus on one major resolution. Choose that one aim that you really wish to reach in the coming year and chalk out a concrete plan to achieve it.

Back Your Resolution with Planning

It is not just enough to make a New Year Resolution. In the absence of proper planning it is most likely that your resolution will fail. Chalk out a plan of how you will resist the temptation of giving up your resolution. This could include rewarding or penalizing yourself for keeping up or failing on your plan, or taking help of a friend. Make a list of how you can help yourself in this regard. Refer to this list from time to time to avoid diversion.

Motivate Yourself

It is extremely important to motivate yourself to succeed in your resolution. Evaluate the price of keeping your resolution in terms of sacrifice, time, efforts, money, perseverance and be ready to pay it. Keep your willpower strong by constantly reminding yourself the benefits of succeeding in your resolution.

Make an Open Resolution

Some people like to keep their resolution a secret. They feel that if they fail in their plan people might humiliate them. Experts feel that a good idea of succeeding in resolution is to be open about it. Even better would be share it with a buddy who has a similar resolution. This way you could check each other’s progress and also motivate each other. Besides, it is also a good idea to take help of friends and family members to keep your motivation level high.

Avoid Triggers

Initially, it would be extremely difficult to stick to your plan for change. There will be several temptations to give up. Plan ahead what you would do in such as situation. Keep your willpower strong.

Take up New Passions

Experts believe a good way to give up a bad habit is to develop a new hobby or passion. This helps to keep your mind off especially during the initial days when the temptation to resume the bad habit is strong.

Monitor your Progress

It is extremely crucial to keep track of your progress to mission resolution. Reward or praise yourself for small successes. Don’t fuss over your failures. Instead ponder over what diverts you from your track and how you can help yourself. Maintaining a diary of your progress is also a good idea.

Place Reminders

To keep reminding yourself about your resolution, put reminders and alerts at several places. For instance you can also take help of email reminder services given by some sites.

Give Yourself Time

Understand that it takes time to change habits and lifestyles. Don’t expect an instant success. If you fail, try again. But surely you need to keep the spirits up.