As we are starting a new year, we surely have reflected on the previous year, failures, hopes and more. Many of us come up with our New Year resolutions to set a goal in different areas of our life.
Each of these resolutions will be a cornerstone to build up the person you would like to be next year. What resolutions have you set for yourself this 2023? Do you know what method will you use to keep yourself accountable with your goals?
Let us review some of the tips we can use to make our resolutions make it over January.
1. Set realistic goals: Think about your current situation, think about your ability to achieve what you want and the tools you have to make it possible. For example, I want to travel to Korea, but I am underage, unemployed and do not speak English nor Korean. Is traveling to Korea a realistic goal? On the other hand, I could set my goal to start learning Korean or English which will help me once I can travel abroad.
2. Break down your goals into smaller ones: It is no secret that building up a new habit is really hard. I cannot say I will hit the gym 2 hours straight each day if I have never had the habit of exercising, instead, I could begin by training myself to wake up earlier and get ready to exercise, then train myself to go to the gym and finally, train myself to workout at the gym. If you want to start a new habit, take small steps and avoid skipping more than twice in a row since the more you skip, the less of a habit it becomes.
3. Write down your goals: Our resolutions are still fresh from New Years, however, by May, they are very likely to have been forgotten for good. Make a list of your resolutions in your phone notes, diary or make a pretty note for yourself you can see every day to remind yourself about the goals you want to achieve. The more you keep them in mind, the more likely you will actually do something about them.
4. Create deadlines for your goals: It is hard to keep oneself motivated without measuring how much you are improving. Think about your goals and make deadlines for them, for instance, if I want to save money, I can come up with a budget plan and decide how much money I must have saved by the end of March, how much by the end of June, September and December.
5. Keep track of your goals: Keep a visual record of your activities, you can use Apps, Excel sheets, pictures or even just a notebook to record whether you did the activity or there was any achievement. Keeping track of your activities will be a reminder for you to keep on going.
6. Do not give up on your goals: It does not matter how many times you fail to be consistent, what matters is how many times you have the strength to start it over again. The recommendation is to not skip more than twice in a row, since you are retraining your brain to turn it into a habit. You do not have to wait for next January to start something, it could be anytime you feel like giving yourself another chance.
7. Talk about your goals: Talk to a friend or family member and ask them to keep you accountable, if you are comfortable, you could also post it on social media, this will make you feel like people are watching you and you need to update them on your consistency.
8. Reward your goals: Treat yourself when you finally start going to the gym or the first week of constantly going, or the first month or when you finally pass the exam you want to pass. The reward could be something delicious, something relaxing, something you buy yourself or just some nap you have been wanting to take.
You do not have to follow all the steps above, you do not have to keep any at all, however, find what is best for you to keep yourself motivated and consistent. You are more important than anything else, make time for yourself and your own achievements, whether it is today, tomorrow or next week, let us starting being our new selves in 3,2,1…
