It is as easy as 1-2-3 to set your New Year’s resolutions but the hard part is sticking to all of them. In fact, only 8% of people who make resolutions achieve them.
How do you set your New Year’s resolutions and ensure that they will last for the rest of the year? Well, the real secret here is simple – you have to set realistic goals. To help you out, here are some useful tips on how to set New Year resolutions and achieve them to the best way you can.
Don’t Make a Lengthy List of Resolutions
Many people make the common mistake of having too many resolutions. You have to avoid this and instead, you have to pick just a single realistic goal. Making too many resolutions means you will have to spread yourself thinly and it becomes less likely for you to achieve any resolutions you made. Being extremely ambitious will just make you end up disappointed.
Small steps are the key here. You have to create small and tangible steps to lead you to a bigger and more overarching goal. For instance if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to finish a half-marathon, come up with short achievable plans of running short distances until you can complete the full length. Again, set small yet realistic goals.
Give Yourself a Pat on Your Back
Prepare some rewards for yourself as you go along the way. You can stay more motivated if you praise your achievements at every milestone throughout the journey instead of waiting for the reward until the finish line. Try to reward yourself with a new pair of kicks once you have completed the 6 miles, for instances.
Write Them Down
One of the best ways to stick to your goals is through writing them down, either on pieces of paper you can pin on the wall or in a journal. See to it that you post your notes in visible places to serve as your daily reminders. Write down each goal you have, the tiny steps you take to attain them, as well as the rewards you will get.
Share Your Goals with Family and Friends
You will become more accountable to others aside from yourself if you share your New Year’s resolutions with your family or friends. You can stay on track and remain motivated if you ask them to check in on the progress you make every now and then.
Plan How to Deal with Missteps
Progress is never something you can do in a straight line. Setbacks will be scattered along the way and obstacles will stop you from achieving your resolutions. However, the very best thing you can do is to come up with an action plan if you end up veering off the track. Also, make sure you don’t stop just because of those setbacks.
If you ever miss a day of running for your training plan for the half-marathon, you can add a mile to your next run instead. This helps you achieve your small milestones and avoid missing other scheduled runs in the future.