Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions With These 10 Tips

Posted On January 1, 2021October 30, 2021

Posted By Alex Perez - Mental Health Writer, B.A.

Happy new year 2021!

I’m sure that by now, like half of the American population, you already made New Year’s resolutions.

This popular tradition is part of our culture since the Ancient Romans. They made promises to their god Janus at the beginning of each year. The god of beginnings, endings, time, and transition even gave his name to the first month of our calendar.

But enough history, you’re reading this post because you want to be part of the less than 10% who actually succeeds in keeping their new year’s resolution, right?

In Order To Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions, You will have to:

Make Realistic Goals

This one is obvious; for example, if you’re currently a couched-potato, picture yourself climbing Mount Everest or finishing an Ironman will maybe be a little bit ambitious for now. But if to tone up, you begin by walking every day for half an hour to be fit enough to start jogging in a few months; your goal setting would be much more realistic.

Set Your Priorities Straight

If you are serious about your new year’s resolutions, you should make only a few resolutions. If you make too many resolutions, you will forget half of them and be unable to keep the other half. Much of the time, when you make a lot of resolutions, they are not even compatible. For example, if I want to quit smoking and lose weight simultaneously, my task will be very hard. So, please do not torture yourself and keep it simple. Choose only a few resolutions each year.

Talk About Your New Year’s Resolutions

If you talk about your new year’s resolutions with your friends and family, you show to yourself and everybody else you really mean it. Talking about it is like going all in. You said it, and now you have to keep your resolution if you don’t want to lose face!

Share Your New Year’s Resolutions With Like-Minded People

share your new year's resolutions whith like-minded people

If you talked about your new year’s resolution, it would be great to find some people to share the resolution with. Surround yourself with people who have the same goals as you is very motivating. For example, going to the gym is a lot more fun with a friend than alone. Another great advantage is that when your mood is low or you feel like giving up on a cold winter morning, your friend will be there to ring you out of your bed and help you stick with the program.

Goal Setting

This one is crucial. You have to spread your resolution over time in measurable goals. Let’s give an example if my new resolution is that I want to “have more money,” the concept would be very abstract and challenging to realize. If instead, I start investing some money every week, then my plan will be already clearer. But “some money” is still uncountable, so impossible to measure. If we replace “some money” with “200 bucks,” we’ll have a clear plan. A clear, measurable plan, spread over time, is the easiest way to stick to your resolutions. In a realistic resolution, you would also consider increasing the amount every few months.

Write Your Resolutions Down

By writing your new year’s resolutions down, it is improbable that you will forget them. This speaks for itself, but it will also enable you to visualize your new goals. Visualization is a powerful tool, also used in meditation, that you can use to reach your goals. For example, there is no better way to quit smoking than to see yourself already as a non-smoker and to tell yourself several times a day that you will never smoke again.

Keep Track of Your Progress

Another must-do if you’re serious about keeping your new year’s resolutions is keeping track of your progress. For example, if you’re in the process of losing weight and you watch yourself in the mirror every day, you will notice no change at all, and you will likely lose interest and maybe also your motivation. This would be sad. After all, you would not notice the progress, even if you’re doing everything fine, because you’re not keeping track of your progress. On the other hand, if you measure your body fat and track your cardio progress, you will notice a positive evolution and stay motivated.

Be Kind with Yourself

To stay motivated over time, you also have to be kind to yourself. Do not judge yourself harshly if you are not yet able to reach your goal. Do not try to be perfect. Nobody is perfect. Do not hold yourself to impossibly high standards. This is the same as sabotaging yourself. For example, if you’re currently on a diet and on a particular Friday night, you grab some beers with your friends and then eat some pizza slices, this is fine. You’re only human, and you need to relax from time to time. If you have the wrong mindset, you will think that this has been a horrible decision, dramatize and maybe quit.

Don’t Procrastinate

You made a new year’s resolution. OK, so start right now. Not tomorrow, not next week. Right now. Once you delay your resolution, you’re lost.

Reward Yourself

Of course, everybody loves a little present once in a while. If you know that you are making lots of efforts to keep your new year’s resolution, it is normal to reward yourself each time that you reach a goal or at least once a month.

What About Your New Year’s Resolution?

Some of the most common new year’s resolutions are quitting smoking, exercising, losing weight, saving money, and spending more time with your family. But being original is kind of cool, so tell us in the comment section below, what new year’s resolution have you made for 2021?