It happens every year. On New Year’s Eve, you feverishly write down all of the things you want to achieve and accomplish, and habits you want to form and break throughout the next year. “This year, things will be different.” “New Year, New Me!” However, we all know that by the time February rolls around, most of these resolutions are already broken, and steps to be taken to reach goals are yet to have been started, and are already disappearing from your memory. How can you actually keep yourself in check throughout the whole year, to make sure you stick to your New Years’ goals and resolutions?
1. Write a letter to “future you” to be opened on New Year’s Eve, 2018
Now that all your resolutions and goals are still fresh in your mind, write a letter to yourself about all you want to have accomplished by the end of the year. Imagine yourself at the end of the year as a closer version to the best you possible. After writing the letter, seal it up and keep it somewhere you can see throughout the year. This way, if you’re ever slacking off, you can be reminded by the letter that you don’t want to let your future-self down.
2. Set calendar reminders
Even while you have the handy dandy letter to keep you motivated and reminded of your goals, sometimes your physical background environment becomes invisible to you, and you need more frequent reminders. Put a monthly or bi-monthly reminder in your phone calendar to ask yourself if you’re on track for keeping up with your resolutions, and make changes if necessary.
3. Develop a mantra for the year
Create a short and simple motto/mantra for yourself that summarizes the main accomplishments you want to achieve during the year, and when things are looking bleak or you don’t feel like sticking to your goals, you can repeat the mantra to get you back into the groove of things. It also can help to post sticky notes of that mantra on places you look at often (your mirror, bulletin board, etc.).
4. Get your friends to hold you accountable
I don’t know about you, but if I’m telling myself to go to the gym vs. my friend telling me to go to the gym, I listen to my friend over my own self every time. If you and a friend have similar goals (for example, developing a work-out routine), try to work on the goal together and hold each other accountable when one of you is slacking. It also really helps to have a buddy going through something with you, and you can motivate and push each other to work harder than you might have if you conquered the task alone.
5. Set smaller, more achievable goals
We can get into a mindset where we think we are invincible, and on New Years’ Eve, we set goals for ourselves that are vague, overgeneralized, and downright non-achievable. This only sets ourselves up for disappointment and makes our goals seem too big to take on. It’s much more productive to set smaller goals that might lead to an end result of one of your bigger objectives. Don’t worry about it not sounding intense enough; in the long run, you’ll benefit from overcoming those small goals rather than giving up on one huge one.
6. Understand that sometimes goals aren’t met, and that’s OK
When it comes down to it, it’s difficult to establish new habits and change major aspects of our lives. It takes work, and sometimes a year is not enough time. Technically, time is a social construct and doesn’t really exist; every day we should try to be our best selves, rather than trying to accomplish something by a certain deadline (a.k.a New Year’s Eve 2018). If deadlines freak you out and make you panic, try not to put so much pressure on yourself, and give yourself leeway. We are very imperfect people, and it’s necessary to cut ourselves slack.
Ultimately, if you put less pressure on achieving your goals and focus more on being your best you on the daily, you’re much more likely to have your best year yet.