Ultimate guide to making, keeping your New Year’s resolutions

 According to Merriam Webster, a New Year’s resolution is “a promise to do something differently in the New Year”. But how many people make promises they brake all the time? Over time, people started taking New Year’s resolutions quite lightly… as sort of wishful thinking. Wherein they have dreams and ambitions they hope to achieve but lack the resolve to achieve them. A resolution requires determination and a course of action. Here are some tips to get you started on making New Year’s resolutions as well as holding yourself accountable to achieving your goals.

1. Make then doable, set a deadline

Almost everyone is familiar with Napoleon Hill’s quote stating, “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” The same is true for New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions are smaller objectives from various aspects of our lives that contribute to our achieving our ultimate goals. And every good objective requires a deadline so that one can appreciate the journey it has taken from the conceptualisation of the aim to its execution and eventually the results stemming from achieving the desired goal. In short, a resolution needs to be feasible; it should be achieved within a specified amount of time.

2. Write them down

Anyone who writes quite often understands the gravity of noting things down. In one fleeting second, a great idea pops into your head and you believe in its brilliance so much so that you believe you will never forget it. A few moments later the idea has vanished. New Year’s resolutions can be easily forgotten in the same way if they are not written down. It is easy now to have wishful thoughts of a fruitful year with great achievements but if they are not written on a physical place then they remain wishes that can easily be forgotten. Therefore, whatever your resolutions are, even they are ideas that would be expounded upon over time, even thoughts or intentions, it’s best to write it down. Writing a notion down helps with its development over time.

3. Keep them close

Writing New Year’s resolutions is easy, we just ask ourselves what we wish for and write them down. Then we close the book or lose the piece of paper and forget about it. The best place to keep your resolutions is in a place you use regularly, for instance, the first page of your diary/planner or as saved jpegs-turned- wallpapers for your computer or phone. Seeing things constantly ingrains them in our subconscious, making us aware of them at all times. If the objectives are constantly in sight, they are a constant reminder for you to work towards your intended outcomes.

4. Be committed 

Nothing is more fearsome than commitment. The thought of doing something constantly is not appealing to most. As humans we like to leave some things to chance, we like to be spontaneous and not drilled into a routine. You might find that resolutions, like staying healthy or eating better, are the hardest to keep because they require consistency and commitment. Although routines do get dull after some time, what will see you through is the willingness to change the important aspects of your goals. It is important to have short-term goals that lead you to a bigger goal. For instance, having a New Year’s resolution to eat healthy can be broken down into several weekly segments that allow you to change the routine throughout the year. Short commitment plans seem much more appealing than one tedious annual plan.

5. Leave room for change

As much as it is important to stick to your New Year resolutions, it is important to understand that they are not written in stone. The universe plays a great role in our lives, our lives change as seasons do. Sometimes we have good days and sometimes we have bad days. All these determine how far we will get in our resolution to change certain aspects of our lives. If our lives can change at the drop of a hat, so can our goals of the year. It is not how often we fall off course but how we carry on after the disruption. You might have to change your objectives to keep up with the changes in your life; the most important thing is not to give up on your goals but rather to restructure them in a way that works with the changes around you. Be willing to adjust your goals according to your current environment.