5 Tips to Make Your New Year’s Resolution Stick

Why are New Year’s resolutions so difficult to keep? We’ve all been there- the excitement of ringing in the new year increases the excitement around change. Among the change to the new year, most people also take this time to reflect inward and make changes in their own life. So, they get that gym membership, or download the Headspace free trial, or pick up that first book… and then slowly but surely, the passion dies out. Life gets in the way. All of a sudden these positive changes have faded backward into old, bad habits.

Perhaps some of you have had a different experience. If you’ve been proactive about keeping your New Year’s resolutions in the past, you’ll know that developing discipline is the #1 overarching factor when implementing a new habit into your life. Without discipline, no long term changes will be sustained. The good news is: we can work on our personal discipline. And, we don’t have to be masters of discipline before beginning to adopt new habits. We must be willing to make ourselves vulnerable, make mistakes early on, and then change what is necessary to succeed. 

I’ve recently found some small success in resolutions I have made in the last 6-8 months. Granted, they were technically not “New Year’s resolutions”, but they were changes I knew I needed to make. So, for those of you who are ready to kick start 2019 with some positive change, here’s 5 tips to make those resolutions stick:

1. Understand Your “Why”

In my humble opinion, you need to complete this tip before trying the four below. Before you solidify any change in your life, you need to understand WHY you are making that change.

Perhaps your resolution is to start going to the gym in 2019. The first question you should ask is, “Why do I want to start going to the gym?” Maybe it’s to lose 20 lbs. Maybe you want to start training for a 5K. Perhaps you want to put on lean muscle. Keep in mind, your answer doesn’t have to be the same as mine. However, you have to have an honest answer to this question, as this will be your main driving factor which motivates you to continue. If your “WHY” is weak, then your results will follow in its path!

2. Have a Plan to Track Your Progress

After you have made your resolution, you need to have a plan in place to track your progress toward your goal, as well as keep you accountable to said resolution. Let’s once again use the “going to the gym” resolution- your first step would be to make this a measurable goal. In other words, associate a number with the goal. Whether it’s “go to the gym 4x per week” or “run 6 miles per week” or whatever that specific quantity is, write it down and track your daily/weekly/monthly progress.

On the topic of fitness, one great way to compete with yourself is to keep a journal of all your workouts. This way, when you are lifting weights or running, you can keep your numbers/times logged in your book, and slowly work toward optimizing those stats. And that, friends, is one piece of unsolicited advice from a very inexperienced weight lifter.  

Regardless of what your resolution is, being able to track your progress is critical to long-term success. It’s a great practice whether you are succeeding or struggling, because you receive constant feedback from your daily/weekly performance at work, in the gym, or at home. I’ll end this point with the saying, “A goal is a wish until it is written down.” 

3. Make Quarterly Goals

New to the resolution game (not sure that's a game/club/thing)? Find it difficult to get motivated about results that are 1 year away? Try quarterly goals!

Make a small goal you want to achieve by the end of March. Or two, three, or however many goals you think are reasonable in that time period. Write them down, put them where you can see them, and formulate your daily actions to work toward those goals. The progress for a 3-month goal will naturally happen more quickly than a 1-year goal, and the momentum of this realized progress can help carry you through the next portion of the year.

I would still recommend having goals/resolutions which are more long-term than 3-6 months, but the short term goals are an excellent start to begin implementing positive change into your life. "Start somewhere."

4. Focus on 1 Resolution per Month

You’ll have to check back with me in a year, but I will actually be completing this challenge in 2019. I have listed 12 habits which I would like to adopt this year, and have assigned a month to each habit during which I will focus fully on the implementation of that resolution.

I really like this idea because it takes away some of the overwhelming nature change brings naturally with it. Rather than staring 12 daunting habits in the face on January 1st, how about try 1 habit first? Focus specifically on the 1 habit every day during the month of January. Repeat it over and over, and slowly it becomes routine. Eventually, it become habit and second nature.

If you feel that any month in particular is too easy or difficult, you can adjust as necessary. The key is to develop some consistency and momentum with the results you are seeing. The more you begin to “win” on the day-to-day, the more confidence you will have going into the next month’s challenges. In 2019, work on developing some #momentum

5. Allow Yourself Some Slack, but Not Too Much

If your 2019 resolutions are ambitious, you will fail. 100% guaranteed. I don’t mean “fail” in the macro sense, but on the day to day. There will be some times when you simply do not perform, or when you forget to complete your necessary tasks, or when stuff just gets in the way.

That is okay- life happens. You do not want to be too hard on yourself... allow yourself to fail occasionally, as that is part of the process. In that same fashion, keep yourself accountable. Do not let yourself consistently slack on tracking your goals or “letting the time get away from you.”

We make time for what we care about the most. In 2019, you can take the necessary steps to make time for positive things in your life, whether that be related to work, your physical/mental health, or any area to which you have designated resolutions.  If we take real measures to reach real goals, we can get real results. 

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What tips do you have for making New Year's resolutions stick? Let's talk about that in the comments! #HappyNewYear :D