How to Fulfill Your New Years Resolutions

January 3, 2018

            It is that time of the year again when people begin to want to change something in, or about, their life in order to create a fresh start. The problem is, people will make new year’s resolutions that typically don’t last past January. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate, and participate, in new year’s resolutions every year. But the purpose of a new year’s resolution is to make a big goal that potentially has the power change your life over the course of a year. In order to fulfill a goal that has that much meaning, you must be very strict. It takes a lot of will power to actively work towards your resolutions because they are not supposed to be easy to fulfill. So, how does one go about making a new years resolution, and actually following through with them?

Choose Practical Resolutions.
The thing that seems to interfere with people fulfilling their New Years Resolutions is people are not practical about their goals. When choosing what your goals are, you shouldn’t look at it from a point of view of “is this possible, is this doable?” Instead, you need to ask yourself, “is this possible for me? Would I be able to do this?” What one person may be able to achieve could be something that another person cannot. It all depends on yourself. This is kind of the soul searching portion when it comes to preparing for successfully achieving your goals. You have to distinguish between what is difficult, but achievable, for you and what is not possible. I believe you can do anything you put your mind to, but you have to have a certain level of determination.  You need to see if you have what it takes for the goals you have set. You cannot choose difficult resolutions and not have the mindset to fulfill them.

Understand Other Changes Has to Happen for You to Succeed.
While your goal could be summed up in a few words, such as ‘losing weight’, you need to understand there are multiple components that build up to your goal. In order to lose weight, you have to change your lifestyle. You need to completely reevaluate your diet and schedule in time to work out. That might mean to you need to do some research and experiment to see what foods best work for your body or what workouts are most effective for building muscle mass. Everyone’s body is different and you have to figure out the little things that help make you the healthiest you can be. This process doesn’t just go for losing weight. Most goals you set will have smaller parts to it that you need to acknowledge and address.

Make a Plan.
Nothing is ever going to change, or happen, unless you make it happen. You need to make a plan that includes ways to fulfill your new years resolution. If your new years resolution is losing weight, you need to not only make time to exercise, but to also make homemade meals. If your new years resolution is to meet new people, then you need to find time to attend events or join clubs. Your resolutions need to be a priority in your life, but you also need to plan out exactly how you’re going to achieve anything and everything you want.

Accept Failure, But Learn.
Here is the thing, when you are trying anything new, you’re going to fail. But that doesn’t mean you stop trying. Every time you fail, you need to reflect and learn. This way you don’t make the same mistakes over and over again. You’re going to have moments of weakness and find yourself skipping your workout to eat a pizza on your couch. Or, you’ll have made a new years resolution to travel more but your plans get all mixed up and your trip doesn’t occur. That is all okay. Reflect on all the things that went wrong, even things that were not completely in your control. That way, you can find ways to prevent these mistakes and prepare for unseen obstacles.

Don’t Overwhelm Yourself.

I am all for making up a ton of different resolutions. I like to attempt a lot of different things and find what makes me a better person. The thing is, don’t over do it. Do not look at New Years Resolutions as trials to find what is best achievable. If you do that, you are setting yourself up for failure before even attempting your resolutions. Pick resolutions that you want, and can, achieve but don’t pick to many. If you go to sit down with a list of 100 resolutions and you don’t know when you will find the time to attempt everything, then you have too many. Another key reminder is to understand you have a whole year to achieve all these goals. You don’t have to attempt every goal you have come up with at exactly midnight on New Year’s. Spread out the start day of your goals throughout different months while still scheduling enough time to attempt, and achieve, them all.