There are records that show the use of New Year resolutions dates back to 4,000 years ago, by the Babylonians. They used this tradition specifically for agricultural purposes, today in the 21st century, we use it to change our lifestyle. We use them as a guide to start over.
The first time I used New Year resolutions was this year, in 2018. After some reflection of this past year, I have come to realize that there are a few tricks to accomplishing our New Year resolutions in a healthy and positive manner.
Personally, I accomplished my most important goals and resolutions for the year 2018 such as getting good grades and thriving in certain activities. Which is why I want to share with you guys how I did this.
Most of the time we don’t accomplish our resolutions because we’re too concentrated on making a lot of them, as well as not following through and forgetting they exist. I realized that I had too many resolutions, and I thought that if I accomplished all of them, I would be perfect and therefore happy. I allowed myself to have the mentality that, if I didn’t accomplish my goals I couldn’t live in the real world, and I would have to be stuck in my own personal bubble, this is unhealthy. With this being said I want to give you guys tips on how to accomplish your resolutions in a healthy manner:
Don’t stress too much about coming up with a bunch of them. If you can’t think of anything specific you want to improve in your life, there is no need to make a list. Keep doing what you’re doing and continue being happy.
Going along with the first point, keep a short and concise list. If you have too many resolutions, you’ll forget about some. Skip the stress. Ask yourself this: what do I really want to accomplish this coming year? Reflect on this past year and analyze what you want to work on or improve.
Have different milestones for your goals. If your goal has to do with improving your grades, have as a reward or milestone a special set of markers or pens that are going to help you study and make it more enjoyable, or maybe a fro-yo session with your friends, or a salon treatment for you to relax. If you have a fitness goal, a milestone for you can be to get a new sports attire when you reach a specific landmark. Remember that your milestones should be specifically healthy to your goal, choose something that is going to motivate you to keep going. If you choose as a milestone to have an intense cheat day after you reach your health goal, that’s not going to encourage you to keep eating healthy. These are going to motivate you in pursuing your goal and help enlighten the process.
Don’t stress too much about your resolutions and take things slow. For example, if your health goal is to lose a certain amount of weight, don’t rush into a strict diet. Start by eating one healthy thing each day and taking out one unhealthy thing and increasing the “healthiness” slowly. Remember that you can eat cake and take breaks.
Don’t wait to accomplish your resolutions for you to live your life. This was a mistake I made last year. I told myself I couldn’t go to the beach until I reached my fitness goal. This is completely ridiculous. I was only focusing on accomplishing my resolution, instead of actually living my life.
Break up your goals into smaller chunks, for example, every month. This can go along with point number three, about having milestones (but they don’t necessarily have to go together). If you want to improve your grades, go into it by having a specific goal for each month. For the first month have as a goal to study 30 minutes a day a specific subject you are struggling with or improving a specific grade.
Plan out your goals with time, be specific and make sure they are attainable. I would recommend using the “SMART” goal method (S is for specific, M is for measurable, A is for achievable, R is for realistic and T is for timely).
Don’t be scared to jot it down in a piece of paper and plan it out. Divide it into a table or make a list. The most important thing though is to know and understand how you are going to accomplish your goal. For example, I want clear skin. I’m going to accomplish this by having a morning and night skincare routine and following it through by tracking it in my bullet journal.
While making New Year resolutions can be fun to make, we need to remember that they cannot overtake our whole lives. We can use them but only to a certain extent. I personally use monthly specific goals in order to reach my New Year’s resolutions, I will make an article on how to achieve your goals throughout the year later on. Remember to plan them well and in the right way and set realistic goals in order to achieve them. I hope you guys have an incredible new year and a great chance for new beginnings.
