At the start of every year, many people create new years resolutions but after some time, they can sometimes fall apart and that’s ok. However, why not think about how you can make them stick. Changing the way we think and speak about resolutions to something that works for us will help us find something that works with us rather than against us.
The term resolutions can harbour a thought process of thinking that there are things that need to improve about ourselves. So, starting to think about resolutions more as goals rather than something that needs to be resolved can help with the longevity of them sticking. This is due to goals being something that you are actively trying to work towards rather than something you are trying to resolve.
It can feel harder to change the resolutions that we set as it can feel like they are more set in stone. Whereas with goals, they can feel easier to change to fit our needs as time goes on. They can be broken down to a more manageable structure with specific steps that you can work on, and these steps can be changed individually if specific steps don’t work, but the rest do.
Goals also don’t have to start at the beginning of the year. You can know what your goals are right from the beginning but starting small and then implementing new goals as the year goes on can be more manageable for you in the long run. It allows you to not get overwhelmed with working on every goal at once, which can create more consistency going forward.
Making your goals you want realistic allows you to wean them into your schedule more easily. It means looking at your schedule and assessing how much commitment you’ll be able to give. As well as thinking about any commitments you may have already such as school or a job etc. This allows you to know how many resources you’ll be able to give to working on your goals.
Identify what you really want and what your core values are. Knowing what you want your goals to be is important to know what truly matters to you. It allows you to not implement anything that isn’t worthwhile and helps prevent any burn out that you don’t want.
Throughout the year, reflect on your goals and how you are coping with following through on these goals. It allows you to make any adjustments that you may need to be able to fulfill your goals properly. As well as allowing you to think whether your goals are working for you or not.
In the end, starting the new year with a fresh set of eyes allows you to evaluate your life. It allows you to get rid of anything that isn’t working for you, keep things that are working, and create new things to best fit your needs. It’s a time when you can strip back your schedule to the bare bones and build it back up to where you want it to be.
Remember that just because it’s a new year, does not mean that there needs to be a new you as the person you were in the last year, could be a person that you don’t want to change. The person that you were in the previous year can be someone you like and want to keep, so don’t feel pressured to change who you are simply because it’s a new year!