The Ultimate New Year’s Resolution Cheat Sheet

How to Pick a New Year’s Resolution and Stick to It

Every year, we set New Year’s Resolutions. Still, by the middle of February, we’d entirely forgotten about them or given up on them. Even with the most important goal to start exercising more, stop smoking, learn a new skill or spend more time with family and friends, it can be challenging to stick to your goal. Luckily, we have a few tips for choosing a New Year’s Resolution and actually sticking to it:

1. Limit Your Amount of Resolutions

While it’s ideal for getting your entire life in order at once, it’s easier said than done.

According to Discover Happy Habits, one in 10 people who failed to keep their New Year’s Resolutions had set too many resolutions. So, don’t stress about completing everything at once; just pick one goal and stick to it. 

One of the easiest ways to choose your New Year’s Resolution is by picking the most essential and relevant goal in your life. For example, if your long-term goal is to lose 30 pounds and have a six-pack, you can start by saying this year, I will start exercising more regularly. 

Choose one of these phrases as a framework to help you write your New Year’s Resolution: 

• This year I want to start…
• This year I want to stop…
• This year I will be…

2. Create Realistic Goals

Along the same lines of having too many resolutions is setting resolutions that are too unrealistic. Sure we’d all like to have a beach body by summer, but that’s only sometimes feasible.

Bulldog Tribune cites a study where “35% of participants failed due to unrealistic goals.” To set yourself up for success, ensure you set attainable goals. Here are a few great tips for setting realistic goals:

• Research what others have done to achieve goals similar to yours
• Determine any limitations to achieving your goal
• Know how much time it will take to achieve your goal
• Break your goal into smaller, bite-sized goals 

3. Set Reminders

Think back to your childhood. Can you remember doing flashcards over and over again to study or singing the alphabet again and again? Chances are you’ve used repetition to reinforce something you’re learning. That’s because repetition works!

According to KidsHealth.org, “Repeating a goal makes it stick… Every time you remind yourself of your goal, you’re training your brain to make it happen.” When we remind ourselves of our goals, we flip a switch in our brains that tells us to keep working towards that goal. Here are a few ways to remind yourself of your goal:

• Place sticky notes with your resolution written down all over your house
• Add notifications to your phone
• Say your plan aloud every morning
• Add your resolution to your calendar

4. Track Progress

According to a study by the Dominican University of California, “Those who set actionable tasks for their goals and initiate weekly progress reporting to their supportive peers tend to achieve 40% more than those who did not.” So, imagine how much we could achieve if we assigned ourselves tasks to work towards our resolutions and share our progress with someone who supports us.

Find a friend, family member, co-worker, or classmate you can trust to help you motivate yourself through your journey to achieve your resolution. Stay on track by sharing your progress weekly. They can help you stay accountable for completing tasks and celebrate wins, big or small.