It’s a New Year, and as usual, people always come up with New Year Resolutions. Did you keep the ones you made last year? What is the guarantee you will keep the ones for this year?
The first question is “Why do people make New Year resolutions? Truth is the numbers of people who make resolutions are always more than those who actually execute the resolution. Some of those resolutions include but not limited to, stopping bad habits, getting married, getting a new job, losing weight, making improved financial decisions, improving time shared with family and so on.
The reason people decide to make New Year resolutions is that the beginning of the year feels like a fresh start, and as such, people feel making promises to begin anew is all they need to start the New Year but in most cases, the resolve to start or even continue is usually not as easy as expected.
One way to try to accomplish your New Year resolution is to be realistic with your expectations and set goals that are feasible. One that is very common is the decision to lose weight. For instance, someone who says “I will lose 50kg by the end of February in 2020” may not be realistic in his expectations because losing a whole 50kg in two months requires more than words. Speak to a fitness coach and let them help you work towards achieving what is feasible. After all said and done, it will all depend on your determination.
Read also: Tips for a healthier you in the New Year
Another crucial thing you need to do is, despite having a list of resolutions, it’s okay to start with baby steps. Try and focus on at least one, when you are about rounding that up, you can begin to look at the next on your list. Trying to do everything at once may be too cumbersome and as such, you may end up not achieving anything at all and before you know it, 2021 is here and you are topping the charts again for New Year Resolution Makers.
Please know that if your resolutions are always the same every year, it means you need to try to figure out why they were never accomplished in the first place, and work at the reasons so that when you include them in the New Year’s resolution, it is with the intent of making it work because, you have now identified the reason for not being able to accomplish it initially and you are now ready to actualise it.
Worthy of mention is that you must understand change takes time. You must be patient in achieving your goals. The fact that you stipulated a certain time for it to be actualised and it hasn’t happened does not mean that you should give up hope on that goal. Keep at it and soon, the results will show.
There is no one who determines to achieve something that is exempted from discouragement.
Many times, different things come up as distraction from achieving our goals; your eyes must be fixed on the mark you are planning to achieve. There are times you will miss out on your responsibilities meant to help achieve your goal, correct the error and move on. Do not dwell on the error or sulk over it. Consider it part of the process, dust yourself up and continue.
Also, know that when you face obstacles during this process, it is not time to withdraw, you made up your mind to go with the plan, and you must also make up your mind to see it through.
There are people who for instance know how you have been struggling with your weight and every time you share with them they say “We shall see”, yes, they will see because you are now determined to go all the way this time but please, know that they are not your determining factor. It’s your health, it’s your life, do it for you!
In your pursuit of achieving your New Year resolutions, ensure you have a journal to record your process. It helps you see how far you have come and encourages you to press on knowing that if you were able to achieve what you have done so far, then you can do more.
These are few guidelines to help achieve your New Year resolutions.
Hopefully, when I hear from you in 2021, we won’t be readdressing the same resolutions but new ones even as you look back to score yourself high marks for accomplishing the ones you set for this 2020.
