Every New Year’s eve, people make promises to themselves and others. It’s only natural to want to begin a new year with a new mindset and better habits. The problem is that they tend to put too many expectations on these resolutions, and it’s not always easy living up to them.
In this article, we’ll discuss the 7 most common new year resolutions and how you can actually stick to them in the new rear 2020.
Listed below are the 7 selected most common New Year resolutions (This is not an exhaustive list)
- Lose weight, eat healthier and exercise more
- Be more organized or organize your life
- Learn a new skill
- Try to spend less money and begin saving up
- Quit a bad habit, like smoking or drinking
- Spend more quality time with loved ones
- Do more of something you enjoy, like reading or traveling
What the most common problems with New Year resolutions are:
But for all the good intentions, only a tiny fraction of us keep our resolutions; University of Scranton research suggests that just 8% of people achieve their New Year’s goals. According to a 2002 study conducted by the Journal of Clinical Psychology, merely 46% of people actually go through with their resolutions at six months. That means more than half of all promises go unfulfilled. In opposition to far-reaching general assessment, an impressive extent of New Year’s resolvers does succeed.
Additionally, logical research shows that you are multiple times bound to change by making a New Year’s resolution contrasted with non-resolvers with the indistinguishable objectives and tantamount inspiration to change.
There are several reasons why this might happen:
1). The goals they set for themselves are unattainable, vague or unmeasurable: If you don’t have a proper plan or a firm idea of what you are looking to obtain, it’s almost impossible that you’ll reach this goal.
2). They set the bar too high: Sometimes, it’s just not possible to get to a specific goal you have in mind. It’s like you are setting yourself to fail before you even begin, and it’ll inevitably end in frustration.
3). They want to achieve their goal right away and get frustrated the moment they encounter an obstacle on the road: Patience is fundamental to achieve any resolution. You must stick to it and know that it will take some time to actually get there. Teddy Roosevelt famously said: “Nothing worth having was ever achieved without effort”.
4). They try and start too big: Instead of deciding to work out a few times a week, they make a resolution to run a marathon straight away.
5). They make an impulse resolution they don’t really care about in the long run, and so end up giving up after a few weeks or even days: As the excitement of the holidays wears off, so does the determination to fulfill this particular resolution.
6). They try to do it all on their own: It’s a better idea to have a friend or loved one attempt to achieve this goal alongside you or at least work as your accountability buddy. This way, you feel supported and can ask for help if you need it.
How to stick to your resolutions
1). Be sure to think through your resolutions carefully:
Don’t just imagine any big goal you want to achieve. Think about an attainable, measurable resolution and set up smaller goals to reach, so that you don’t grow frustrated in the middle of it and drop it altogether. If you begin small and manage to form a habit out of this easier-to-achieve goal, then you’ll be able to get to the next step of the ladder without struggling so much with it
2). Get yourself help:
It’s not easy sticking to your resolutions. Perhaps having someone in your life to act as an accountability buddy will help you keep moving forward instead of abandoning your efforts halfway through. You will be able to talk to them about the struggles you are facing and have them check on your progress if you ever begin to grow lax on your efforts.
If you feel like you don’t have anyone in your life that can help you with this issue, there are plenty of apps and web pages out there that provide that kind of service or can put you in contact with other people who also need an accountability buddy, and you can help one another.
3). If you fail, start over again:
It’s ok to fail. It doesn’t matter if you dropped your resolution in February and then want to go back to it in June, July or even November. Get right back on the horse and start again as if nothing happened. Whenever you manage to improve your life or learn something interesting, it’s worth the effort. Don’t get disheartened if at first you don’t succeed, there are always other chances of trying again and finding the proper motivation. You don’t need to wait till the next New Year’s Eve to make another resolution!
4). Review your improvement on a regular basis:
If you keep yourself from forgetting the new year resolution you made and set up weekly reminders, you might have a better chance of achieving it in the long run. Set up reminders on your calendar or alarms on your phone beforehand, so you don’t have to be reminding yourself about it constantly. It’s a good idea to check how you are improving and if there is room for change, or if you are indeed on the right track.
Adjusting small errors along the way will be far easier than trying to change all at once. Be patient and don’t judge yourself too roughly: If a particular week or month you didn’t do as good, make a commitment to yourself to try harder moving forward. Remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. If you exhaust yourself all at once, you’ll never get where you want to be.
Finally, we hope you have a great 2020, and these tips help you achieve all the goals you set for yourself during New Year’s eve. Remember that resolutions are meant to improve your life, not make it harder. If it’s stressing you out, it might not be worth your while.
