How to keep your New Year’s Resolutions

Are New Year Resolutions still a thing? They probably are, but people use different terms for it. “Goal setting. Annual challenges. Future plans. Dreams for 2025” etc. No one dares use the term New Year Resolutions. It’s like a cursed phrase. Everyone knows 80% of the population will have abandoned their New Year’s Resolutions by February, so few people even try. But it doesn’t have to be like this. You can set New Year Resolutions for you and your family and stick to them, but you will need help along the way. Here are some healthy hacks to help you confidently keep your New Year Resolutions throughout the year.

Find a Reason

Why do people create New Year’s resolutions anyway? Is it because they feel obliged to make them because it is a trend? In the popular cartoon Phineas and Ferb, the evil Dr Doofenshmirtz creates a device to force everyone to have the same New Year’s Resolution, only to discover that no one who makes a resolution intends to keep it.

The truth is, you need to have a good reason to have a New Year resolution in the first place. A strong motivating reason. It could be triggered by fear. Think of Ebeneezer Scrooge in ‘A Christmas Carol’, who changed his life around after his fearful night of spooks threatening eternal life in chains and misery. And there is nothing like receiving a diagnosis of Diabetes to radically reduce one’s sugar intake. Sometimes, there can be a positive motivating reason to make a New Year’s Resolution such as saving for a wedding or slimming down to fit into a new bathing suit for a summer holiday. Is there an event happening in the New Year that you want to prepare for? That could be a good motivator.

Write down your goals

Bridget Jones writes a diary every year including her resolutions. I relate to Bridget. As someone who often makes massive embarrassing mistakes, I feel her frustrations. But at least she is determined to improve. It may seem futile to simply write down goals, but according to Gail Matthews from The Dominican University in California people who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them as opposed to those who do not write down their goals. You will achieve your goals if you put them into action. The first action needs to be writing them down.

Make it realistic

We all want to become millionaires. Life would be a lot simpler if we had financial freedom. But is it realistic to have a resolution to make £1million in a year?

Whatever your New Year’s Resolution is, it must be realistic otherwise you will give up. If you want financial freedom what does that look like? Maybe making a million pounds a year is not realistic, but what will be a comfortable income for you and your family? How will you realistically accomplish that? Or perhaps you want to become an author. You cannot guarantee that your book will be published. Your resolution could be to write the first draft in a year. If you manage to write the first draft in the first 6 months you can change your resolution to finish the 2nd draft by the end of the year. Adapt it as you go, but make sure you set realistic goals.

To help you make realistic goals it’s worth following the SMART model.

Find a resolution buddy

It’s always easier to uphold a resolution if you are accountable to someone else. Has anyone in your life got the same resolution as you? Perhaps you both want to lose weight, or run a marathon. Maybe you could train together. Do you want to write a book in a year? Could you find another writing buddy online? If you want to learn a new skill attend classes so you learn with other people. You can all hold each other accountable.

Start when you are busy

Millionaire Entrepreneur and motivational speaker, Alex Hormozi recommends starting a new resolution when you are at your busiest. If you start when you are not busy it will be easy to continue the habit. However, if your life starts to get hectic it may be hard to carve out the time to work on your good habits. Therefore, start when you are at your busiest so you carve out time to work on your resolution in your busy schedule. Do not compromise on your resolution otherwise, you won’t be able to fulfil it.

Eliminate temptations

It’s not easy to lose weight if one’s fridge is full of junk food. Neither is it easy to concentrate on writing a novel with the TV blasting in the background. You are more likely to accomplish your goals if you are in the right environment. Fill your fridge and cupboards with good healthy food. Cover your TV, if you don’t want to be distracted by it. Add an timer App blocker to your computer so you are not distracted by common social media platforms whilst you are trying to work. Set out your enviornment to make it easier to fulfil your goals.

Make monthly resolutions

A whole year is a long time. It is hard to keep up the momentum for 365 days without seeing the initial results. Perhaps that is why so few of us are able to keep our New Year’s resolutions. After about 3 weeks many people give up. It is hard work and we are impatient to see results fast. So instead of making New Year’s Resolutions make monthly ones. Set smaller bite-size goals where you can see the results sooner for example, if your resolution is to lose 40lbs in a year you could set a goal of losing 4lb a month. You’ll get a little dopamine fix just by achieving that goal each month and that can spur you one. If you are consistent you will have lost 40lb within 10 months.

Make resolutions with your family

Is there a shared goal in your family that you could all work towards? Maybe there is a family holiday you all want to save for? Or perhaps you all want to learn a new skill together such as a new language or a musical instrument? It is much easier to keep one’s resolution if it is shared within your family unit. You can all hold each other accountable. You can all encourage each other and maybe even have a little competitive fun such as learning a new language using Duolingo.

NB: If your New Year’s resolution is to go to Disney World for the first time, our post “How to plan for your first trip to Disney World” will help.

Be inspired

Read motivational books and listen to motivating podcasts. If you want to give up your resolution because you find it hard to keep going, go back to listening to inspiring people who have already accomplished their goals. They can give good tips and advice on how to conquer the hard times. Also, just seeing and listening to successful people can inspire you to keep going knowing that as their hard work pays off, yours will too.

Below is a list of books and podcasts I recommend. Some of the links are affiliated, so Sops and I may make a small commission if you make a purchase. Please read our affiliation disclaimer for more details.

Books:
Limitless by Jim Kwik – Known once as the “boy with the broken brain”, Jim Kwik is a well-known motivational speaker dedicated to teaching people how to learn. If you want to learn to read faster and remember things with greater ease this is the book for you. Filled with inspiring stories and useful exercises this book will help you succeed in the workplace and social situations.

Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdul – When I was an academic mentor I had a ‘Mary Poppins’ doll on my desk. It was to remind students of her phrase, “Whatever job there is to be done, there is an element of fun. Find the fun and snap the job’s a game.” I wanted students to find fun in their studies. So, I was thrilled to hear Ali Abdul refer to Mary Poppins in the same way in his book “Feel Good Productivity”. This book is peppered with good advice on how to be more productive by developing a feel-good attitude towards work. All his advice is backed by scientific studies. This book will help you enjoy carrying out your New Year’s resolutions all year round.

Atomic Habits by James Clear – They say it takes around 6 weeks to create a new habit or discard one. Whether it is doing 15 minutes of exercise a day or quitting smoking, you need to practice it every day to embed the habit into your lifestyle. Clear talks often of compound interest in this book. Just some consistent changes will change your life forever. So if your New Year’s Resolutions seem daunting read this book and you’ll be inspired to make the changes you want in life through small changes.

Podcasts:
Fast, Feast, Repeat by Gin Stevens and Sheri Bullock – One of the best ways to lose weight and stay healthy is through fasting. This technique is not for everyone, so check first with your doctor if you are thinking of fasting. However, if you are able to fast the benefits are astonishing. It’s not easy to go without food for long periods of time and it is very easy to fall off the wagon. If you are trying to fast to lose weight I recommend listening to podcasts on the benefits of fasting to motivate you.

The Personal Finance podcast by Andrew Giancola – Are you living from pay day to pay day? Do you want to pay off debt or perhaps put some money aside in savings for a rainy day? If sorting out your personal finances is one of your New Year’s Resolutions I recommend listening to a quality podcast on personal finance. Not only will the podcast motivate you to improve your personal finances it will give you some great advice on how to improve your finances legally and without being scammed.

Helping Writers Become Authors by K.M. Weiland – They say everyone has a book inside of them. Writing a book is a common New Year’s resolution for many people. But very few people accomplish it. If your New Year’s resolution is to write a book this year there are many resources to help you on your journey. Listen to podcasts, take out a writing magazine subscription, or even consider going on a writing retreat. You may want to really challenge yourself this year and write a novel in a month. The nanowrimo community can help you with that challenge.