How do you keep your New Year’s resolutions?

According to sociological research, 25% of the decisions made on New Year’s Eve, we refuse in a week. The rest are forgotten over the following months. Many make the same promises to themselves every New Year and do nothing to fulfill them. What can you do to really achieve what you want next year? Here are some tips.

Be realistic

If you’re not exercising at all right now, don’t promise yourself to train 6 days a week. Realistic goals are easier to achieve. Firmly decide to at least try to go to the gym, run in the morning, do yoga, go to dances.

Think about what serious reasons prevent you from fulfilling your desire year after year. Perhaps you simply do not need a conditional sport. And if you do, what prevents you from starting to exercise once or twice a week?

Break a big goal into many small ones

Ambitious plans like “I will no longer eat sweets” or “I will delete my profile from all social networks so as not to waste precious time on them” require remarkable willpower. It’s easier not to eat sweets after 18:00 or to give up the Internet on weekends.

You need to go progressively towards a big goal, so you will experience less stress and more easily achieve your goal. Determine the first steps to achieve what you want and immediately begin to act.

Track progress

Often we refuse to fulfill our plans, because we do not notice progress or, on the contrary, it seems to us that we have achieved a lot and we can slow down. Keep track of your progress with a diary or a dedicated app.

For example, if you want to lose weight, keep a food diary, weigh yourself every Monday and record your weight changes. Against the background of the goal (for example, lose 20 kg), small achievements (minus 500 g) may seem modest. But it is also important to record them. Even small success inspires you to keep going. If you plan to learn a foreign language, make a schedule of lessons, download an application in which you will write down new words and remind you, for example, to listen to an audio lesson on Wednesday evening.

Visualize your desire

Create a bright and clear image of yourself in the future. Answer the questions: How will I know that I have achieved what I want? How will I feel when I keep my promise to myself? The more specific and tangible this image is, the faster your unconscious will begin to work for the result.

Tell your friends about your goals

Few things can motivate like the fear of falling in the eyes of others. You don’t have to tell everyone you know on Facebook about your goals. Share your plans with someone close to you – with your mother, husband or best friend. Ask this person to support you and ask about your progress regularly. It’s even better if he can become your accomplice: it’s more fun to prepare for a marathon together, learn to swim, quit smoking. It will be easier for you to give up sweets if your mother does not constantly buy cakes for tea.

Forgive yourself for mistakes

It is difficult to achieve a goal without ever going astray. No need to dwell on mistakes and blame yourself. This waste of time. Remember the banal truth: only those who do nothing do not make mistakes. If you deviate from your plan, don’t give up. Tell yourself, “Today was a bad day and I allowed myself to be weak. But tomorrow will be a new day, and I will start working on myself again.”

Do not be afraid of failures – they are useful as material for working on mistakes. Analyze what caused you to deviate from your goals, why you began to skip workouts or spend the money set aside for your dream trip.

Do not give up

Research has shown that it takes an average of six times to reach a goal. So if for the first time you thought to pass on the rights and buy a car in 2012, then you will definitely achieve your goal in this. The main thing is to believe in yourself.