5 Tips for Making and Actually Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions This Year
This isn’t the year to go crazy with massive-sized goals
Go easy on yourself. Keep your changes small and doable for a positive change in your life.
Most New Year’s resolutions are doomed to fail in a normal year. Studies show that while the majority of us can keep it going for at least a week, over 80% of resolutions fail in the long term.
After surviving this dumpster fire of a year, I fear our rate of success for resolutions will be even worse.
There is no reason to overwhelm ourselves with sweeping resolutions that are too difficult to keep, especially during times of great stress. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t create healthy habits that lead to lasting change.
2020 was difficult. It didn’t look the same as any other year, and we shouldn’t expect our New Year’s resolutions to look the same this year.
As happy as most of us are to leave 2020 behind, the truth is, nothing magically changed the minute the clock struck midnight on December 31st, 2020. While hope is on the horizon with the vaccine, it’s not going to be a quick fix. It’s still going to be a long winter.
But I don’t want to linger on the gloom and doom. If you have changes you want to make in your life, there are ways to do it with success. The key is to break your big goal into something smaller and attainable.
Tip #1: Be Specific With Your Goals
It’s hard to succeed when your goals are overreaching and vague. You will find it easier to follow specific goals that have clear directions. For example, don’t have a goal that says, “I want to be healthier.” Think about how you can be healthier. You could vow to eat an extra serving of fruit and vegetables each day. Or you could cut out snacking before bed.
Or if you want to exercise more, make a specific plan to do so. You can have the goal to add an extra day to your routine or 10 minutes to each of your sessions.
Tip #2: Don’t Beat Yourself Up
We’re all under a lot of stress. Go easy on yourself if you have off days or trouble following your goals. There were times this year I was simply surviving. You may need to acknowledge that you have picked up some unhealthy habits during isolation.
During the first few weeks of quarantine, my daughter and I had a buying frenzy of junk food online from Target. It was instantly rewarding to receive a box filled with so many different kinds of treats. She discovered foods she’d never seen before. None of it healthy, of course. But it was fun, and I think we needed some fun at the time.
But highly processed, sugary foods don’t keep you feeling good in the long run. I felt it was okay to let ourselves go at the beginning of lockdown. And then, it kept going on and on, and we had to find our healthy habits again.
There is no point lamenting unhealthy food we’ve consumed or extra glasses of wine, or any other self-destructive behaviors. All we can do is move forward and make better choices.
Tip #3: It’s All About Micro-Habits
Have you heard of micro-habits? They are tiny steps that don’t take much time and effort to get you moving forward. They are so small and easy to complete that you don’t find yourself making excuses to avoid them. But over time, these positive changes add up, and you find yourself with new behaviors.
For example, if you want to start writing a novel but feel you never have the time to begin, devote five minutes per day to your writing. Slowly add minutes until you’re working on your novel 30 to 60 minutes per day. This buildup should be very slow and deliberate. It could take months. No rushing is allowed.
Or if you want to run a 5k but you haven’t run in years, start with a run around the block a few times a week. Often the hardest part of doing something is getting started, and that’s where micro-habits get you over that hurdle.
Tip #4: Revisit the Past
Which of your resolutions has failed over the past few years? Take a little bit of time to think about why you experienced failure. Were your goals too vague? Did you try to do too much too soon?
On the flip side, where have you been successful? What goals have you achieved? Think about your accomplishments and what it took you to get there. You can use those methods for success in reaching future goals.
Tip #5: Try a Limited-Time Challenge
Rather than making a traditional resolution, try a limited-time challenge. Earlier this year, I did a 30-day yoga challenge. I loved it, and although I didn’t keep up with yoga every day after the challenge ended, I have continued to keep it in my routine. I’ve found yoga once or twice a week goes a long way to keeping me balanced, both emotionally and physically.
If you google 30-day challenge or 7-day challenge or whatever length you want, you’ll find many ideas. You can challenge yourself to healthy eating, strength training, walking, reading more, writing more, pushups, meditation, finding gratitude. The options are limitless.
Take the Good From 2020 — Leave the Rest Behind
What habits have you changed this year that are positive? Not all of my new routines involved having chips delivered from Target.
This year I have learned a lot. I have learned to slow down. I’ve cooked more homemade meals for my family. I’ve learned we don’t have to always be on the go and that it can be okay when life turns out to be completely opposite of your expectations.
I’ve also learned I can bake a cake without eggs, butter, or milk. I don’t need a yoga studio to do yoga. I’ve spent more time with my family. (Admittedly, some of this time was stressful, but I’m grateful for it all the same.)
And finally, I’ve discovered my dogs pretty much spend their entire day sleeping.
I hope when the world shifts back to normal, whatever normal ends up looking like, I can keep the adaptability I’ve gained this year. And I hope I can remember that scheduling downtime for my family is just as essential as all of the activities.
My goals for this year are to hold on to the good stuff while I work slowly on the areas that need work.
