New Year's tends to be a time of large commitments and hard to reach goals for many people, believing that a "New Year means a New You" yet not many people tend to stick with their goals for the entire year, or even to the end of January for that matter. So here are a few New Years goals that are a bit more realistic.
1. Exercising
Honestly, not everyone can afford a gym membership, nor can they fit the time into their schedule to go everyday. Yet you can make a huge difference in the way you exercise by simply increasing the activities you do. Instead of paying to go see a movie on the weekend, go on a hike instead. Many trails are free of charge and can vary in their lengths and difficulties. If you make a goal to go biking, running, hiking, walking or even swimming a few times a week you can save a large amount of money on a gym membership and workout right outside of your home. Even purchasing a few dumbbells and a yoga mat can help you get motivated to increase your exercise and get in better shape than you were before.
2. Dieting
Diets are expensive, and tend not to be worth it. Instead of eating foods you hate, starving yourself, or spending large amounts of money you can instead set a smaller goal to limit the certain foods in your diet. Deciding to go 6 months or even an entire year without junk food is unnecessary and a very hard goal to meet if you tend to eat these foods daily. Instead, limit your soda or coffee intake, the chips, cookies and baked goods you consume, and instead replace these foods with fruits or other healthier options. Set smaller goals first, maybe cutting your coffee intake by a 1/3 and then slowly increase your goal over time.
3. School
Many students set unrealistic goals very quickly, and with that also become disappointed rather quickly. If you just signed up to take a very serious, very difficult class, and plan to get a 4.0 this semester, you might become even more stressed because you might not be pleased with anything less than perfect. Instead, start with smaller goals, like doing well on the first exam, then working your way up in other classes, then set more realistic goals from there. If you can maintain a 4.0, then great! If not? Then that's okay too.
4. Money
Money can be a touchy subject for some people and that's why many try to set unrealistic goals at the beginning of the year. Some state that they want to increase their income, take on another job, or invest in order to increase their salaries. These goals can be hard to achieve and that's why they can also become unrealistic, especially in a short period of time. Instead, set goals on how else you can bring money into your life. Picking up a part time job on top of your full time job can sometimes be too much, but even just a few extra hours a week may be the difference in income you are looking for.
5. Quitting Bad Habits
Quitting bad habits is a great New Years resolution, however, not everyone can quit these habits "cold turkey" or immediately. Instead of dropping your smoking habit, consuming too much caffeine, or impulsive buying habit immediately, instead slowly wean yourself off of these bad habits. If you consume 5 cups of coffee a day, look into healthier alternatives while slowly removing a cup to two cups from your daily routine. You could also look into cutting down the sugar or cream content you add into your coffee as well.
