How to KEEP Those New Year’s Resolutions

The holiday season is in full swing, which means that the new year is just around the corner. Most people view New Year’s Day as the special day when they get to make a fresh, clean start. You know what we are talking about: the whole “new year, new you” phenomenon that starts every time the calendar switches to January.

New Year’s resolutions aren’t a new thing. In fact, the ancient Babylonians used to make new year promises to their gods, things like they would pay off their debts or return borrowed items. The Romans also started each new year with a promise to Janus, the god for which the month of January was named.

In modern times, New Year’s resolutions can be quite a big deal too. Nearly half of the U.S. population admits to making them, and brands do a huge marketing push at the beginning of each year using those resolutions as a selling point for all kinds of products.

There is something about the start of a new year that makes people want to get things done, right?

New Year’s Resolutions vs. Goals

So, what exactly makes a resolution different from a goal? Well, a resolution is, in essence, a decision to do or not do a particular thing like, “I will quit eating chocolate.” A goal is a little more complex, it involves planning and effort to achieve a particular result.

While choosing to make New Year’s resolutions is never a bad thing, especially if they involve something truly life-changing like smoking cessation, you may find it easier to accomplish or keep your resolution if you change it to a goal instead.

A goal will give you a path and a destination. Your desired outcome can be broken down into actionable steps that can be planned. It makes it easier to accomplish your desire because you have a definite idea of what it will take to achieve it. Let’s take the smoking resolution for example.

A resolution would simply be the statement: I’m going to quit smoking. However, there is no plan to achieve it or even a deadline of when it has to be achieved. You can spend 364 days smoking and quit for the last day of the year, and you will technically have completed your resolution.

The Big Difference in a Goal

Now, a goal is a bit different. If you set a goal of quitting smoking, you will need to assign a deadline. Now instead of simply stating that you are going to quit, you will have to make a commitment, such as “I will quit smoking by May 1st.”

Then, once you have your deadline, you can work backward from May 1st to January 1st and create a plan of actionable steps. Perhaps you want to make a doctor’s appointment to discuss the process with your doctor. Maybe you want to try cutting back on your daily intake until you reach zero by May 1st. You may even decide to try cessation therapy or hypnosis. Whatever steps you decide on, they are actionable. You can create a plan, and check off the steps as you go.

See the difference? Goals are generally better and easier to achieve than resolutions.

Related: Smoking and Your Skin

Why Do They Tend to Fail?

Ready for the depressing news? More than 75% of people fail to achieve their New Year’s resolutions. Terrible, right? There are plenty of reasons why people will fail to achieve their goals, here are a few of the major ones:

• Attempting to Sprint. The way to break or change a habit isn’t a quick one. When you try to do all your changes in one fell swoop, you are unlikely to succeed. It is better to think of your path as more of a long-distance race than a quick sprint.
• You Have No Faith in Yourself. Doubt in yourself can be the quickest killer of any plan or goal. Confidence can accomplish many things.
• No Doing. You can’t simply make a plan for achieving your goal and put it on paper, but never actually do the steps. You have to put in the work, dreams alone won’t make anything happen.
• Unreasonable Expectations. You have to give yourself and your body time to complete the things that you want done. If you never exercise or do any type of physical activity, don’t expect to be able to complete a triathlon in a few weeks time. Be reasonable with the expectations that you set upon yourself.
• Lack of Support. This can be a big one. You need a cheerleader in your corner, and you need to cut off people who are actively working against you. Your support can come from lots of places: a spouse, a friend, a support group. At the same time, if someone in your life is working against your goals, you may have to step back from that relationship.

How to Keep New Year’s Resolutions Within Reach

By setting reasonable expectations when you initially make your resolutions or goals, you will have a much better chance of attaining them. That doesn’t mean you can’t shoot for something really huge, just make sure that your plan includes ample time to complete the steps to get there.

The best way to keep your New Year’s resolutions on track is to be really, really specific. Don’t say “I want to lose weight.” Instead, say “I want to lose 10 pounds before my vacation in June.” Being specific makes it easier to break your resolution down into those actionable steps we touched on before.

Once you have made your very specific but reasonable resolution, you need to hold yourself accountable. If you aren’t ready to announce your goal to your friends and family members, write it down just for yourself. Put it in your planner, make a sign for your desk, chart it on your refrigerator. Choose whatever way works best for you to keep seeing it and keep it at the front of your mind.

Pat yourself on the back everytime you reach one of your little goals along the way. You have to celebrate the little wins to keep yourself focused on the big win that is on the horizon. At the same time, don’t beat yourself up for the misses. You are bound to slip a little now and then, you are only human after all. Just don’t let those slips push you into total defeat.

When you find something that works for you, keep at it. This is especially important when you are trying to break a bad habit like quitting smoking or cutting back on sweets. You will find little tricks along the way that makes things easier, and by all means, stick with them.

Suggestions For Great New Year’s Resolutions

While your New Year’s resolutions can really by anything at all from something tiny like not drinking coffee after 10 am to something huge like quitting your job and moving across the country. Whatever it is that you want to accomplish should be a personal choice, but if you are looking for a few ideas of resolutions that can be broken down into actionable steps and followed through on, here are a few suggestions:

Quit Smoking. This is a great resolution because it will greatly improve your health and help add to your budget!

Get in Shape. Another one that will make you healthier, but can also be great for your emotional and mental health as well. Not to mention the boost in energy you will get from being fit and active.

Eat Healthier. Losing weight is usually a goal for a lot of people, but a better goal is to switch to healthy eating habits. Chances are you will lose weight in the process, but you will also be doing your body a solid by eating nourishing and healthy foods.

Save Money. Creating a budget so that you can bank a little bit of cash for emergency situations is a great resolution. You can even add a little fun in there too! Save X amount of dollars for your emergency fun and X amount of dollars for a little splurge.

Related: How to Avoide That Unwanted Weight Gain

Now Suggestions I Bet You Never Thought About

Learn Something. There is so much out there in the world that can be learned, make a goal to learn something new. You could try a new language or take up a new instrument.

Read Books. A lot of people make a goal to read a book a month, but if that seems like too many for you, try a book a quarter. If you don’t read at all, maybe just completing one book for the year is a worthy goal.

Start Volunteering. It is easy for everyone to get caught up in their own lives, but making a goal to volunteer helps you get outside of yourself and help others. You will automatically become more grateful and mindful in your own life.

Things to Consider When Choosing Your New Year’s Resolutions

The entire goal for making your New Year’s resolutions is that you will stick with it and end up as your New Year, New You. In order to have the best results, here are a few things that you should consider:

Limit how many resolutions you make. Don’t try to accomplish fifty things this year, especially if you haven’t been able to accomplish one in the past. A good baseline is three. Make three solid resolutions with a clear guideline on how you will achieve them.

Consider your life situation when making your goal. If you are struggling to pay your bills on your current salary, don’t make saving $10,000 your goal. It will be very unlikely that you will be able to achieve it, and you will simply end up disappointed and discouraged. Instead, consider your circumstances and adjust your resolution accordingly.

Do you really want to make this change? Make sure that your resolution is a change that you actually want to make. It is unlikely that you will ever be able to achieve a goal or stick to a resolution that you aren’t really excited about, and if you do manage to stick with it, you probably won’t end up happy about it.

Don’t forget to consider the pros and cons of your goal. If you have a goal to work out 5 times per week, that time spent working out will come from another part of your life. Will it mean you spend less time with friends or your family? Make sure you consider both sides of the resolution and then plan one that works out best for you. Maybe you can tweak your resolution to something else, like joining a gym with your spouse.

Are New Year’s Resolutions Really Just a Waste of Time?

The answer to that question is yes…and no. New Year’s resolutions can be a waste of time if you aren’t fully committed to the outcome, you aren’t really interested in achieving the outcome, or you absolutely 100% already know you aren’t going to bother to attempt to achieve the outcome. If you know one or all of those things to be true, then yes, your resolutions are a waste of time.

However, if you are pretty stoked about achieving your goals, have created actionable steps to get you there, and set out a reasonable timeline, then no, your resolutions aren’t a waste of time.

Making New Year’s resolutions is a personal matter, and no one can tell you what is right for you. If you already think they are a waste of time, then they are. If they make you work harder at getting what you want, then they aren’t.

Happy New Year’s!

When the ball drops at midnight on the 31st of December, you may or may not have your list of resolutions waiting to be checked off over the next year. Either way is fine because it is a personal decision to make.

Hopefully, you will find a way to reach out and grab your goals this year (and every year that follows!) If you need a resolution to get you there, then go for it!

More Great New Year’s Resolutions Resources:

10 Sure Ways to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

Why your brain makes New Year’s resolutions impossible to keep

GOAL SETTING & NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS – 12 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF SO YOU CAN ACHIEVE THEM BOTH