3 Tips for Accomplishing Your New Year's Resolution
By: Nicole Pyles
Nicole Pyles is a writer living in the Pacific Northwest. She currently works as a Blog Tour Manager for WOW! Women on Writing. Her writing has been featured in WOW! Women on Writing, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, The Voices Project, and Restless Magazine. You can follow her on Twitter @BeingTheWriter.
As the New Year looms, many of us are considering resolutions for the new year. It goes without saying that many resolutions fail, but according to a recent study, people who make a New Year's Resolution are far more likely to change their ways than those who say they want to change, but don't make a resolution at all.
So, whether you want to lose weight, take better care of your skin, launch your new business, read more, or cut back on social media, there are methods to the resolution madness. Keep these tips in mind and maybe by the end of 2019, these resolutions will have become transforming life habits.
1) Develop a support system.
What better way to keep your resolutions than to have a support group? Start with telling your friends, family members, social media buddies, your dog, the clerk in the grocery store, and anyone who will listen all about your New Year's Resolution. You are more likely to stick to it, if you aren't keeping it a big secret. Best of all, create a support group filled with people who have similar goals and check in on a regular basis, even if it's only by email. Reach out on social media to build your crew and check in once a week. This encouragement and support system goes a long way with resolutions and improves your chances at keeping them.
2) Start with a small, attainable resolution. Then go from there.
A lot of us start out 2019 with big goals like lose weight or get out of debt. Yet, huge, sweeping resolutions like these can be overwhelming. Instead, be specific about the habits you want to change. Be realistic with yourself too. If you want to lose weight, maybe start with an exercise routine you can stick to and cut out desserts. If you want to get out of debt, start with eliminating credit card usage and set a specific amount you want to cut down on your budget each week. If you want to read more, join a book club, whether it's online or in person, and read the selected book each month. Being specific about your resolution increases your chances at succeeding. Best of all, these are trackable successes that you can keep an eye on each week. So, get out those calendars and markup 2019 with your mini-goals.
3) Reward yourself along the way.
Whatever you resolve to do in 2019, treat yourself for your successes. For example, if you are trying to save money, for every $100 you put into the bank, visit your local coffee shop and reward yourself with your favorite beverage. If you want to exercise more, reward yourself with new workout clothes for every 90 days you stick to your workout schedule. These rewards play a significant part with helping you stick to your resolutions. So, for each goal you achieve along the way, reward yourself accordingly.
New Year's Resolutions often seem unattainable. In fact, not doing them seems to be more of a tradition than keeping up with them. Hopefully with these few tips, you are setting yourself up for success. No matter what, any change big or small is a good one. So, have a happy and successful new year!
Nicole is a writer and blogger living in the Pacific Northwest. You can read more of her work by visiting her writing portfolio or her book and writing blog The World of My Imagination.
Nicole Pyles
Glad to hear Katie!
Katie
I enjoyed reading this. Very helpful to use. My resolution is to read more and procrastinate less- will be using these tips to help!