Oh, what a joy new year resolutions are. We all make them every year without a fault, we all claim this time we'll stick to them, and we all fail miserably two weeks into the year (three if we're really determined).
But why do we fail so miserably? I mean we've been making and breaking resolutions for years so you would think we would be pros by now. But unfortunately, most of us common folks have no clue how to actually stick to our resolutions.
One of the biggest reasons we are unable to actually stick to our resolutions is that most if not all of them require a lifestyle/habit change. It has been proven that it is almost impossible to change, break, or make 10-15 different habits at the exact same time. And I feel like most of us already know that attempting to change that many habits is futile but we maintain a tiny shard of hope that this year something will change that will help us succeed.
after years and years of trying and constantly failing, I have come up with a little plan to achieve 12 resolutions or habits every year.
The first step is to make a list of 12 resolutions we want to achieve. If you want to be even more likely to succeed write how much time you think this resolution will take.
For example, if I want to save $5k dollars throughout the year depending on how much I get paid that may take me the entire year or just a couple months. Or if I want to lose weight I have figure out how many pounds and how long it'll take me to loose the weight (keep in mind it is usually unhealthy to lose more than 2 pounds a week).
After figuring out 12 resolutions [ONLY 12!] organize them so that the most time-consuming one will be first and the least time consuming will be last.
After that assign one month to each resolution. That way January, which is usually the month we are most passionate about achieving our resolutions, will get the most time-consuming resolution and December, which is usually the craziest month of the year for most of us, will have the least time-consuming resolution.
Finally, once the year starts to forget about the other 11 resolutions and work ONLY on the January resolution. Do whatever it takes to keep up with your January resolution. Since you are working on only one resolution it will be a lot easier to stick to it so DO NOT skip one single day. If you manage to stick to your January resolution for the entire month you can rest assured that it will become a habit and a rule of life by the time the month ends [since it takes between 21-30 days to make or break a habit].
this way by the time the next month starts you won't have to concentrate about the previous resolution since you'll be used to it.
repeat this last step every month so by this time next year you will be on your way to creating 12 new habits and achieving 12 different resolutions!
TL, DR version:
1. Choose 12 habits you want to achieve this year
2. Every resolution belongs to one month, which means ONLY work on one resolution a month
3. After every 21-30 days of constantly and consciously doing an action, it'll become a habit.
4. Remember to work on one resolution a month! By the time the month ends your resolution will be a habit so you won't have to worry about what you've already stablished.
