How to Make and Keep Your New Year's Resolution

A New Year’s Resolution is a promise that we make to ourselves.

As the year ends, many of us are thinking about how we can get 2023 off to a smashing start. The new year is the perfect time to get a fresh start. Seize the opportunity to change bad habits and establish new routines that will help you grow psychologically, emotionally, socially, physically, or intellectually.

The problem is, resolutions are much easier to make than to keep. With the best of intentions, we promise to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of the year. Too often by the end of March, many of us have lost our resolve and returned to our old patterns. If this is you, don’t worry, You’re not doomed to have unfinished resolutions forever. Picking a focused New Year’s resolution that’s both inspiring and manageable will have you more likely to check it off, come the end of the year.

Make only one resolution. You may be tempted with grandiose plans for self-improvement. But try to avoid creating a list crammed with lots of resolutions. It is better to focus on just one. That way, you can focus all your energy on achieving it. Plus, you won’t be disappointed when the end of the year comes and you haven’t checked off a bunch of resolutions on your list.

Focus on just one behavior. Your one resolution should address one behavior, not multiple behaviors. If you try to commit to eating healthy, exercising, and drinking plenty of water you’re more likely to get overwhelmed and quit. Instead, just focus on one of the three behaviors and you’re more likely to succeed.

Make your goal specific. The more vague goal is the more difficult it will be to achieve. Specific goals are more actionable and therefore more achievable.

Choose your resolution for the right reason. Make sure is something that you genuinely want to achieve. If it’s because you think it will benefit someone else or make someone envious you won’t be as likely to succeed as you will be if you pick a goal that means a lot to you. Before committing to a New Year’s resolution, ask yourself, “Why do I want to do this?”

Pick a meaningful resolution. Pick a resolution that makes you feel inspired, aligns with something that you are passionate about, or motivates you. And, you’ll be more motivated to do it. Some ideas are to join an art class, volunteer at a pet shelter, or take a class at a local school.

Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal says, “The best kind of resolution is one that has a “big why” – to create health, to reconnect with a personal passion, to strengthen an important relationship, to change your financial situation, to develop yourself in some way, or to contribute to others in some way. And then you pick a small action or change that reflects this big goal, to remind yourself of it and to help you take steps toward it.”

Choose a resolution that helps you grow as a person. A resolution that brings you closer to your ideal self will be easier for you to achieve. You don’t want to make to choose a resolution to make a huge transformation but one that focuses on a single action that will help you grow in some way and get you a little closer to who you want to be.

Choose a realistic resolution. Don’t set yourself up for failure. Make a list of potential obstacles. What day to day constraints might interfer with achieving your goal. Write them down. Then, assess if it’s still a realistic resolution. For example, if your resolution is to walk five miles everyday after work, consider your work schedule, the weather, other obligations that may interfer with doing it, and how likely you are to stay commited long term. A more realistic goal may be to commit to exercising for 15 or 30 minutes each day.

Break your resolution into smaller parts. Even if your resolution is specific and realistic, it might still be overwhelming. To make your resolution more manageable divide it into a series of smaller goals that are measurable. Say you want to finish something by the end of the year. Creating a subgoal to do one part of it each week and assess that progress every week. If you’ve done it, continue what you’re doing. If not, ask yourself why that happened. For example, if you want to lose weight, setting a goal of one pound per week is less daunting than losing 50 pounds. If you want to put your photos into albums, committing to doing a few pages a week is more likely to get done than being overwhelmed with hundreds or even thousands of pictures that you’ve stashed in a box for later.

Pick a resolution you haven’t attempted before. If you’ve tried a resolution in the past and failed, you may be setting yourself up for failure.

Stay Motivated. During the first few days of a resolution, you’ll probably feel confident and highly motivated. That’s because you haven’t really faced any real discomfort or temptation associated with changing your behavior. However, after the reality of dragging yourself out of bed at 6 a.m. to go for a run or suffering through the ill effects withdrawal sets in, your motivation may wane.

In these moments, remind yourself exactly why you are doing it. Write a list or think about why you are doing it, what do you have to gain by achieving your goal. Finding sources of inspiration can keep you going when times get tough. Don’t Give UP! Stay Focused On Your Goals With The Staying Motivated Tips In This Post.

Share your resolution with family and friends. They can be super helpful in making your resolution a real. They can hold you accountable, offer advice, and most importantly cheer you on!

You don’t have to start your resolution on New Year’s Day. You can start anytime. If you aren’t ready on the first you can start when you are, you don’t have to wait until the following New Year.

Some of the most common resolutions are: