Soon enough we'll be ringing in the New Year yet again. With every New Year comes empty resolutions that are made. New Year resolutions aren't supposed to be easy, but they aren't supposed to be extreme either. Resolutions are supposed to improve life no matter how small or large they may be. When I was in high school, there were New Year resolutions I made that I wanted to stick to. It took some time, but I finally figured out the secret (at least for me) on how to turn my resolutions into success. Here are some steps you can take to create and maintain those New Year resolutions this year:
1. Look back at your life.
"The key to the future lies in the past."
The first step to creating your resolutions should lie within the past. Take some time to recollect on your life and what you want to improve on. Maybe there are some things you want to do more or maybe some habits you want to break. You first have to look back and be sincere about yourself. For me, every Christmas Eve I will lay in bed and look back at not only the past year but my life. It helps me to visualize who I am as a person from where I have been, to where I am now, and to where I want to go.
2. Create reasonable resolutions.
The next step after looking back at your life is starting to come up with resolutions. When creating these resolutions you want to start with smaller ones; more reasonable ones. You can't climb a mountain without taking small steps first. By starting with smaller resolutions, you can slowly make them into habits which will then help you to achieve your bigger goals. Whether it takes a few months or a few years, it is a lot more beneficial to start with smaller resolutions than to fail with unattainable resolutions.
3. Create a physical/visual representation.
After you create your resolutions you can't stop there; you're only halfway there. The next thing you need to do is create something physical for your resolutions. What I find best is to write them down and make it into a chart. I will go all out in decorating a note card for each resolution so it makes each resolution seem like a big deal. Some other things you can do is make a display. For example, if your resolution is to lose XX pounds then make a small display in your room of a bikini and some beach pictures. By having something physical to display your resolutions you are more inclined to stick with them due to the constant visual reminder.
4. Maintain resolutions.
The final and biggest step of them all is to maintain your resolutions. All too often we create resolutions and leave them behind with the New Year's party. The best way to maintain them is to analyze them at the end of each month. Remember how I make note cards of my resolutions? Well, each month I write on the note card a number from 1 (terrible job) to 10 (exceptional job) on how I did with it that month. Even at the end of the year, I average the numbers for each resolution so I can see how effective of a job I did with each resolution. By checking in on my resolutions each month, it has truly helped me to keep my resolutions. If you take a small portion of your time to update yourself on your progress you will be able to uphold you New Year's resolutions.