How to Set New Year Resolutions That You Can Stick To
It finally happened!
2020 is over and we are now in a new year that is filled with opportunities. Whenever a new year rolls around, it's an excellent time to get rid of bad habits and pick up healthy ones. As you probably already know, it is challenging to stick to New Year resolutions. In fact, most people drop them after a month of trying to stick to them.
No matter what your 2021 goals are, we have some helpful advice for how to set New Year resolutions you will actually stick to.
Why Make New Year Resolutions In the First Place
Starting off a new year with an optimistic attitude is important to get your mindset on track to achieve something. A New Year resolution is you promising to yourself to become better in some way. When you have a goal, you place yourself on a path that will provide you with motivation and confidence along the way. Hopefully, you will also see impressive results!
However, if you don't stick to your New Year resolutions, you start to lose the wind in your sails. Your confidence drops, as does your self-esteem. You reach a point of stagnancy or even head into a downward spiral.
We want you to avoid that, which is why we are going to show you how to set New Year resolutions and stick to actualizing them.
Popular New Year Resolutions for 2021
Heading into 2021, these are some of the most popular New Year resolutions people are looking to achieve:
Exercise more
Eat healthier
Spend more time with family and friends
Lose weight
Live more economically
Spend less time on social media
Improve job performance
Reduce work-related stress
Quit smoking
Cut down on drinking alcohol
Exercising more was considered to be the top New Year resolution, which nearly half of people are hoping to accomplish in 2021. Eating healthier was a close second. At Delta Fitness in Canary Wharf, we can help you with both.
How to Stick to New Year Resolutions
If you want to know how to stick to New Year resolutions, then we’ve got you covered. Here are some steps you can take to stick to your goals for this new year.
Create Smaller and Measurable Goals
The key is to create New Year resolutions that are smaller, or that are closer to milestones towards a bigger goal. For example, if your goal is to exercise more, get specific! Set the intention that you will go to the gym, or work out at home, twice a week for half an hour each time. When you have measurable goals, they become more tangible and more easily reached.
Think About What You Made Your New Year Resolution
When setting goals, you should be considering why you have decided on a goal to be a New Year resolution. Are you doing it for the "right" reasons that best serve you right now? This is important because if you are making a New Year resolution out of self-hatred, remorse, or fleeting passion, you're probably not going to stick to getting those New Year resolutions met. You may spend a few weeks working towards reaching them, but then will stop.
Think about what is best for you at this time. Whatever it is, that is something that has long staying power as a New Year resolution.
Track Your Progress
Develop an action place that will help you accomplish your goals. This should include scheduling tasks that bring you closer to reaching your New Year resolution, as well as regular check-ins that track your progress. Using a journal or productivity app to track your progress will help keep you on task and on the road to reaching your goals.
Another benefit of tracking your progress is that you will have a better understanding of what works and what doesn't regarding your resolution. This will help you stay more focused on accomplishing what you set out to do.
Have a Support System
When we are held accountable by others, we are more likely to stick to our New Year resolutions and reach them. It can be quite challenging to be our own coach when it comes to seeing things through. That’s why it helps to have a support system you can count on to keep you on the straight and narrow path.
This could be a friend, family member, or even a coach you hire. We sometimes need that additional guidance, especially at the beginning of our journey towards actualizing New Year resolutions.
Avoid Falling Into the Perfectionism Trap
Perfection is like utopia; it doesn’t exist. No matter how hard you try, you will never be perfect at anything. That’s not a statement meant to demotivate you. On the contrary! People who attempt to become perfect at something will be destined to fail.
You will sometimes miss one of your milestones or fail to live up to one of the expectations you gave yourself. That's OK. Everyone does that. In fact, failure is part of the road to success and achieving your goals. It doesn't mean you need to quit. Sometimes, life gets in the way or something happens that prevents you from matching your expectations.
What you can do instead of trying to attain perfection is to just do your best and forget the rest. Limit the number of obstacles you have on your path to fulfilling your New Year resolution and avoid enabling bad habits. Remember that every day is a new day that brings with it new opportunities. Nobody achieves perfection, so try to avoid letting a less-than-perfect path towards your goals dampen your motivation and determination.
Wrapping Up
Now that you know how to set New Year resolutions you can stick to, you have a much higher chance of attaining them. The confidence, self-esteem, and results you will get to enjoy will have made it all worth it. If achieving peak health and fitness, do not hesitate to contact us or visit our Delta Fitness studio in Canary Wharf.