As a society, we never fail to make lists of our New Year's resolutions as soon as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s eve. We are conditioned to want to do better, try harder, work more productively, and constantly attempt to improve ourselves - which is what leads us into creating these lists. We put so much pressure on this one day of the year that we make unreasonable goals. By the end of the following year, most of these goals are either left incomplete or forgotten. Personally, I believe that it is essential to be setting goals for ourselves all year round with the intention of improving ourselves; it doesn't have to be on one special day.
This will be the year that everything changes. “New year, new me,” right? This is something I tell myself - and it’s not necessarily a bad thing to want a fresh start. With that being said, most New Year's resolutions only last a few weeks even with the best of intentions. It takes an average of 12 weeks to develop a new habit in your life. However, we, as humans, are busy and impatient; shouldn’t change happen overnight? Wrong. I promise if you follow these tips, you will be able to create a New Year’s resolution that you will be able to keep - and see the results.
First of all, you need to decide on what you want to improve on in your life. Ask yourself: “What is the area of my life where I need to make a change?” No one is perfect; there’s always something to improve on, room to grow.
Next, think long and hard about your goal. Be certain that this is something that you will actually be able to accomplish. Not only will staying realistic set you up for success, but it will also help you avoid a disheartening failure within a few weeks of the new year. The main reasons why most people's New Year's resolutions end up failing is that they're either too vague, they’re based on the expectations of someone else, they lack personal meaning, or they lack a realistic plan that helps one achieve the resolution.
A helpful tool to help you set any goal the SMART goals acronym:
S- Specific. Make sure that your goal is specific enough for you to accomplish it. The more specific the goal is, the better. For example, instead of saying “I want to eat healthier,” say “I want to limit the amount of junk food I eat” or “I want to increase the number of vegetables I eat in each meal.”
M- Measurable. How are you going to track your goal all year round? This will help to keep yourself accountable so you are more likely to keep up with your goal. I recommend using a planner or an app to keep track of your progress.
A- Achievable. Your goal needs to be something that is doable for you and your life. Don’t let your goal be influenced by anyone else; your goal must be for you. It should be a thing you can achieve throughout the year. If the goal is too large, you may feel a sense of discouragement when you are unable to complete it.
R- Relevant. Is the goal something that actually matters and is important to you? Is the goal relevant to your life? If you make a goal out of a spur-of-the-moment impulse or worse yet, self-hatred, that might mean this goal isn’t right for you.
T- Time-bound. This step is all about the numbers. Make sure you set a certain deadline to accomplish what you want to do. Give yourself a timeline for how long you have to finish the goal. Instead of: “I want to drink more water,” change it to, “I want to drink 8 glasses of water per day every day for the whole year.”
This year I want to work on journaling. Journaling is a helpful tool to help your mental health, help you grow as a person, look back on your life and so much more. There are many ways to journal and no hard and fast rules. I liked to do morning pages which is when you write everything you are feeling like a brain dump. I also like to write about different situations and how I felt about them. I write about what I am grateful for and all the good things that happened that day. Additionally, I like to write letters to my past and future self or write letters to people but never send them. These are just what I journal about, but you can write about anything. This year I want to make journaling a daily habit. Using the SMART goals formula I plan to write in my journal once a day for at least 10 minutes 6 out of the 7 days of the week. I want to try to do this goal for the month of January.
As human beings, it's so important to set goals. If you want to do better in your life and improve yourself, remember that the only person stopping you is you! I hope you found this article useful in helping you create a lasting New Year’s resolution that will help you accomplish any goals you put your mind on. I guarantee you’ll feel so great once you see the effect that achieving your target has on you overall as a person. Happy New Year.
Comentários