How to Create and Stick to New Year's Goals
I spent the day of New Year’s Eve, scrolling through my Facebook feeds. As per tradition, many of my friends were posting statuses about what they were going to do with the promise that a new year brings. Their New Year’s resolutions. Most of them were the same ones we have all seen and probably made for ourselves time and again, like “I want to lose weight,” “I want to make more money for the new year,” “I want to quit this toxic and health-threatening habit,” and “I want to get organized.” While there is nothing wrong with these ambitions at their core, their structure is far too empty to be taken seriously. Here are some practices you can take to apply to any new year resolutions to make sure that you stick with them until the next year.
1. We all want to
We all want to lose weight, make more money, get organized, whatever and the new year is a great time to make these changes. Everyone would love those things. You have to know for sure that you are going to do this. Do not say that you want, because that implies that you are leaving it up to something else to give you the results of the resolution. I will lose weight. I will make better grades. I will stop procrastinating.
2. Be Specific
Technically, losing two pounds is losing weight. You have to be specific. How much weight do you want to lose? What are better grades compared to the grades that you make now? What do you consider to be procrastination? With these questions in mind, you can begin articulating a better and more defined goal, which makes for a clearer and more attainable path to reach that goal. I will lose a total of 50 pounds. I will make at least a 3.0 GPA. I will delete and survive without half of my social media accounts.
3. Break it Down
Take each goal and create stepping stones, smaller goals, that will help you reach those goals. Decide these stepping stones no longer than 6 months in advance, starting with this new year, because again, you don’t know what could happen over the course of the year, and you may need to tweak your stepping stones along the way. I will lose a total of 50 pounds by counting calories every day with MyFitnessPal. I will make at least a 3.0 GPA by dedicating an hour each day to schoolwork. I will stop procrastinating by using my phone an hour less every month.
4. Deadlines
Probably the most important thing to goal creating this new year is knowing when to stop that stepping stone goal so that you can move on to the next stepping stone. I will lose between 4 pounds in January, then 4 pounds in February, then 5 pounds in March… I will spend an hour at the school after classes for homework, then increase that time as needed each week or month. I will delete my LinkedIn account by January 31st, my Pinterest account by February 28th… Reaching these small milestones make the ultimate goal feel far more attainable, not to mention the feeling of progress you feel once you do reach those milestones.
5. Be Prepared to Fail
Know right now at the beginning of this new year that you’re going to have some fall-backs. Life is going to hit you unexpectedly and sometimes you might even have to tweak your goal a bit depending on what happens in the year. Like I said, you can’t tell what’s going to happen in 12 months. But you can be in charge of whatever you want to do. Make a list of what you are going to do in 2018, break those things down and write down dates. Take charge of your life, this is your chance to be in control. And have a great new year!