As the year winds down, it’s common to deliberate on how it went. At the end of this reflection, you might seek new goals or resolutions for the coming year.
This could be better diets, more exercise, professional development, or good financial habits. It may also be to quit smoking, make positive relationships, or pursue any positive life’s desire.
A list of resolutions only needs a few minutes to prepare, but the burden lies in their implementation. That’s why, by April, resolutions are already forgotten by many people.
You might wonder what the point of making one is if it’s so difficult to accomplish. With the right plan, execution, and motivation, you can make your resolutions work.
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Ways to Make Your Resolutions Work
Read on to learn how to make a resolution and stick with it.
Set Realistic Goals
Be sincere in what you want and can achieve. Consider what’s most important to you and make a list; rank them to have your top 5. That’s because if you have too many goals, you will exhaust yourself, and your resolutions will fail.
Resolutions are not wishful thinking. It’s unrealistic if a three-month mountain climbing newbie wants to climb to the top of Mount Everest by the middle of the year. It won’t work; unrealistic goals are a common reason most resolutions fail.
Create a Plan
Your resolutions are merely words on paper or your device if you don’t develop an action plan. To achieve your goals, you’ll need to set measurable targets for each. These targets must be time-bound to help you meet deadlines. Without setting time limits, it’s easy to procrastinate, and you won’t achieve your goal.
However, avoid unnecessary pressure; you are not in a competition. Take baby steps and go at a pace that you’re comfortable with.
Things don’t always go as planned, and your plans might not either. To minimize this, consider potential obstacles to your resolutions as you create your plan.
These could be time, distance to places like the park or the gym, family commitment, or social pressure. You might not prevent them all, but by adapting to them, you’ll make your resolutions work.
Develop Routines and Habits
It’s common to consider daily activities as nothing special, but they form your habits. You can’t execute your plans if your routines and habits don’t align with your goals. This is because routines are important for meeting your targets, but in big chunks, they appear difficult.
To make it manageable, you can simplify it by breaking them into small tasks. As you practice these tasks, they will become your routine, then a habit and part of your lifestyle.
I must warn you; it’s not as easy as it sounds. To pull through, you’ll need self-discipline and determination.
Learn from Previous Mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes; it’s a necessary part of life’s journey. The American inventor, Thomas Edison, made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts before inventing the light bulb. When he was asked how it feels to fail that much, he replied, “… the lightbulb was an invention with 1000 steps. “
In the same way, there are lessons to learn from your previous unsuccessful resolutions. Reflect on them, consider why they failed, and think of what you can do differently now. By identifying why it didn’t work, you might discover a path that can help you meet your new resolutions.
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Accountability
If no one knows about your plans, it’s going to be easy for you to stall. Being accountable to someone will help you stick to your goals and objectives. This can be a close friend or a family member, but it must be someone you trust to support you. The person mustn’t indulge in habits that are contrary to your goals or that will enable you.
You can also find a support system in online communities; you’ll find people there who share your interests and resolutions. These communities exist on Reddit, Facebook, or other platforms online. You can likewise find offline communities of people who share similar goals with you.
Consistency
If you only practice your routines once a week, you won’t make any progress. To establish a new routine, you’ll need regular practice.
This will make your resolutions work and help you overcome procrastination. If at any time you fall behind because of other commitments, just pick it up from where you stopped.
It’s also a good idea to measure consistency to determine your progress. You can do this by tracking your activities daily, weekly, or bimonthly. It might surprise you to see how well you are doing, and this will motivate you to keep at it.
Smash Your Resolutions
It’s tough to incorporate new habits into your routine, but with a good plan and strong will, you can do it. These measures will help you achieve your desires and aspirations—your resolutions.
However, you don’t have to wait for a brand-new year to make your resolutions work.
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