Staying motivated with your New Year’s resolutions is about to get a lot harder as January becomes February.
Making New Year’s resolutions is one thing, but actually sticking to them is a whole other ball game. We have had one whole month now to get into the groove, but it can be hard to stay motivated when the excitement of the new year has faded. So, here are some tips on how to keep the spark of ‘new year, new me’ alive.
Small Steps
Many people set grand, unattainable and unsustainable goals at the top of the year and then inevitably cannot succeed at them. This is one of the biggest reasons why people give up on their hopes by the end of January (or even earlier). But there are simple ways to avoid this and stay motivated with your New Year’s resolutions.
Start off small and work your way up to your resolution. For example, if you made a resolution to go to the gym five times a week, I doubt your schedule will allow that and then you will give up on the idea because you couldn’t do what you set out to right away. Go to the gym once a week and then try to build it up.
If you want to eat healthier, maybe just introduce one new vegetable or fruit a week. This can help you not to become overwhelmed and give you a better chance at long-term success.
See also: Free Online Chats For Mental Health Issues
Renew Your New Year’s Resolutions
In the spirit of baby steps, and taking things slow, it may be worth renewing or adapting your resolution when the reality of the situation hits. Saying you will run a marathon is all well and good, but when you have to wake up at 5am every day, it can become less exciting.
When this happens, and you feel yourself moving away from your resolution, try to adapt the idea. Maybe just train two days a week instead of every single day. This will reshape your perception of the resolution and make it less of an arduous task, as you are not doing it all the time.
Renewing your resolution can also remind you why you made it in the first place. Whether it was for happiness, health or to better your mind, coming back to the root of why you set this goal for yourself can reinvigorate you to keep going.
Check Yourself
Our resolutions usually only affect us, so it is only us who can hold ourselves accountable. Due to this, if you don’t feel like sticking to your resolution, no-one is going to stop you. You have to hold yourself accountable in those moments when you want to give up and find it within yourself to keep going.
The only person you are going to let down if you don’t stick with your resolution is yourself, so you need to want it enough to succeed.
The Resolution Doesn’t Define You
We usually make resolutions to ‘fix’ something we feel is wrong with us. Whether it is our overall health, our body, mental state, etc. So, when we don’t see changes right away, it can become disheartening and make us feel worse about that particular thing.
It is better if you create goals that are not as pointed. Instead of going to the gym to get a six-pack, maybe adapt it to going to the gym to make you feel happier and gain stamina. This is more of an attainable goal that you will see quicker results with.
The bottom line is you are perfect without your resolution. A new year’s resolution should just be something you can work towards during the year, it should not define you.