New Year, EVOLVED Me: 6 Tips on How to Create Long-Lasting New Year’s Resolutions
It is finally 2021, which means that we’ve said good riddance to 2020 and that we’re ready to start working on our goals for the New Year. With the New Year bringing a fresh start for many, hundreds of millions of people around the world are putting their final touches on their list of New Year’s Resolutions, or are working on vision boards visually capturing the things they want to accomplish in 2021. Many have also decided that the New Year is a time to wipe their slate clean and start over with working on undoing bad habits or old patterns, basically the “New Year, New Me” state of mind that most have. However, the “new me” can quickly revert to your old self only months into the New Year, abandoning or forgetting about the list of goals that were initially made. Now of course creating these resolutions is a lot easier than actually sticking to them and achieving them, but how can you work towards having goals that you follow through with that bring long-lasting change? Here are 6 Tips to help you create long-lasting resolutions in the New Year.
Condense Your List
Oftentimes people come up with a list of ten or so goals that they want to accomplish out of the excitement of starting fresh and thinking that the next 365 days will give you plenty of time to see your goals through. We all know that the year can go by SUPER fast, and it’s easy to forget about our goals simply because we have too many that we’re trying to work towards achieving. Try shortening your list in half so that you’ll have more time to focus carefully on each to better your likelihood of accomplishing your goals.
Create Categories for Your Goals
Most of our goals represent changes that we want to see in ourselves emotionally or mentally, physically, professionally, and personally. Instead of putting them in number order on one list, separate them into their corresponding category so that over time you can see how achieving each goal will impact you. For example, any diet or exercising change that you want to see would go under physical, or goals of wanting to save a certain amount of money would go under financial.
Break Each Goal Down into Smaller Tasks
We usually put a lot of thought into each goal that we want to accomplish for the year, yet we don’t always take the time to plan out how we plan on working towards achieving each goal. Sometimes our goals might seem overwhelming after time because later on in the year we’re wondering ‘Where do I Start?’ We may not know until shortly after creating the goal how we’re going to accomplish it. To make it easier, create small tasks that you can adjust as you get closer to achieving the goal that can help you actively plan this desired change.
Perform Quarterly Check-In’s
To avoid anxiety waiting until the 6-month mark to look and see how much you have or have not accomplished on your list, do check-ins with yourself every quarter to evaluate any progress that you might have made. Performing quarterly check-ins with your resolutions can also be a great opportunity for you to cross any goals off the list or create new tasks for planning.
Have a Good Support System
When attempting to accomplish goals or create positive change in our lives, I’m a firm believer that we are responsible for doing most of the work to see the results that we desire. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t have great support to help us achieve our goals along the way. Whether it’s a therapist, your family, your partner, or your friends, having people that love and care for you and want to see you win can help motivate you anytime you need an extra push or can hold you accountable while you work on achieving your goals. Let your loved ones know the resolutions you have on your list so that they can also perform check-ins with you, or allow them to help you in any way that they can.
Give Yourself Grace and Have Patience
We are so quick to become defeated or low when we aren’t able to reach our goals or when we fall short of attempting to see them through. While any disappointment or sadness is completely valid, give yourself room to breathe and the grace in knowing that your goals won’t be accomplished overnight and that doing your best is all that matters. You aren’t on anyone else’s timeline except for yours and if it takes you longer than a year to accomplish a goal or if you’re having difficulty getting there, it’s OK. Be patient. The fact that you were willing to create goals to better yourself in the first place says a lot about yourself and your self-worth.
I wish you a happy and prosperous New Year, and I hope that this list of tips can be used as a guide to help you achieve your goals a little easier for 2021.
