5 Ways to Make Your New Year’s Resolution Stick

With January 1^st behind us, our New Year’s Resolutions are in full swing.  How is your resolution going?

We all start the year with the best intentions.  We tell ourselves that this year will be different than last year.  Our resolutions are going to stick and we’re really going to better ourselves in some way.  However, as the days of January start to pass, we may notice ourselves slipping back into our old routines and we start thinking that our New Year’s Resolutions may be a little pointless.

Don’t give up! There’s a reason we set our resolutions.  They’re things that we truly want to accomplish so we can’t let go of them so quickly.

Here are 5 tips to make your resolution stick:

1. One by One – We may make more than one resolution at the beginning of the year, but we should try to take it one at a time.  Trying to change something we do currently or adding something to our usual routine takes time and adjustment (both physically and mentally).  Master one resolution and then move on to the next.
2. Be Specific – The top resolution for 2016 is “Enjoying Life to the Fullest,” () but it’s not enough to just say these words.  How can we make it happen? We need to figure out what we enjoy and resolve to do those things.  If we enjoy traveling, let’s resolve to take a trip this year.  If we enjoy spending time with family, we can resolve to plan a family game night or go out to dinner together once a week.
3. Set Short Term Goals– If our broad goal is getting healthier, we need to break it up into more manageable pieces.  An example could be, “I’m going to get healthier by going to the gym 3 days a week.”  This will allow us to see our progress and celebrate our victories each week.
4. Don’t Beat Yourself Up – We’re all human.  We’re going to slip up occasionally.  Maybe we didn’t make it to the gym as much as we wanted to or at all this week.  It’s okay!  We can’t let one thing derail all of the progress we’ve already made and can continue to make.
5. Write It Down – As much as we can tell ourselves our resolutions, sometimes an old fashioned pad of paper is all we really need.  Studies have shown that those who write down their goals are much more likely to achieve them.

How do you keep your resolutions?