5 Ways to Plan and Stick to Your New Year's Resolution
It is the beginning of a New Year, and for some people this means new resolutions. For many of us the new year starts off great, with new energy, motivation, and positivity. After only a few months we can start to lose track of our goals, slip up and give up completely, or end up forgetting about them when life gets busy. According to Research in the US, 32% of those who made a resolution for 2016 did not stick to it, and 68% only stuck to part of their resolution. The research also showed that more men than women stuck to their 2016 resolution (75% of men, 62% of women).
This year we want you all to succeed. We wouldn't make resolutions if they didn't truly mean anything to us, and if you had the opportunity to achieve your goals and make positive change in your life, wouldn't you take it? Homebodii decided that this year we want to stick to our resolution, not just for a few months, or half the year, but the entire year. We decided to research, and now share our tips on how to plan and stick to your New Year's Resolution.
Tip #1: Define your Goals
Most of us create general, non-specific goals with little or no detail. This year I want to exercise more, drink less, get a better job, spend time with family, go out with friends more often, save more money. None of these goals say how you are going to achieve this. Goals need to be S.M.A.R.T - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. To define your resolution and make it more achievable we need to look at why you chose it. If you want to exercise more, is it to get fit, tone up or lose weight? If it is to lose weight, then how much weight do you want to lose, and by when? Will you do this by going to the gym, going to classes with friends, eating healthier, or all of the above?
Tip #2: You have to see it to believe it
Give yourself a constant reminder of your goals. Put it into your daily schedule, create a vision board, put them beside your coffee maker that you use every morning, or put them on the back of the toilet door. By giving yourself a constant daily reminder of what your resolutions are you can stay motivated and not forget about them when life starts to get busy. Vision boards are a great way to visualise the end result. If you want to get fit this year and have the best bikini body you have ever hard, collate pictures of that great bikini you want to buy, and your ideal body type. Put up inspirational quotes, motivational words from friends and family, and even a picture of yourself on day one of your resolution.
Tip #3: Don't keep your resolutions to yourself
Tell friends, family, and co-workers your goals. You can self-motivate by creating an audience, and ensuring that those around you are aware of your resolutions. You may not want to embarrass yourself in front of those around you, and the motivation of not failing in front of people you know can help you stick to your goals. The great thing is you will also create a support network around you who will remind you not to do things that can affect you achieving your goals, and give you encouragement during tough times.
Tip #4: If you can measure it, you can make it
By clearly defining your goals as per tip one, you will be able to track your achievements easier. If your goal was to loose 15kgs before your birthday in June by doing two weekly spin classes, and cut out junk food from your diet, it will be easier to measure. You can record your weight at the beginning of each week in a diary, or put it up on a board in a location you see regularly. Do a weekly checklist where you can tick off the two weekly spin classes once completed. Take a picture of yourself at the beginning of every week and put them up beside each other to see your weekly progress. Have a food diary and record what you are eating. This way if you can't see results at the beginning of each week, look back at what you were eating that may have impacted on the results, and revise where necessary.
Tip #5: It is better to partially succeed than not try at all.
If you slip up or make a mistake in reaching your goal that doesn't mean you failed! Small wins throughout your journey all add up and each success brings you closer to your goal. If you were on track to loose those 15kgs but put on some weight one week, don't give up, try to lose the weight this week instead. If you end up losing 10kgs of the 15kgs you aimed for, this is still a win. Or if you said you will stop eating junk food then went through a drive through at 12 in the morning because you were hungry, you didn't fail. You are still better off than the year before, and if you only had junk food once or twice that year, is that still not an improvement from last year? At the very least, partially succeeding is better than not succeeding at all. Use any slips to temptation as a lesson, and find ways to avoid the same scenario in the future.
Most importantly you need to know that the resolution doesn't need to last an entire year. It can be something that can be done within 6 weeks, or in preparation for an event that is coming up in August. Set achievable goals to ensure you don't demotivate yourself.
If you have a tip that has worked for you that we haven't mentioned in this post, we would love to hear from you! Leave us a comment with a tip, or share how these tips have worked for you.