Because 2019 is the year you actually achieve your New Year resolutions.
With the turn of the New Year, the new date draws the most promising of lines in the sand to leave your pesky habits in the past and start afresh.
But let’s be honest, sticking to them definitely isn’t as easy as it is to make them. But fret not, we’ve compiled a list of encouraging factors to consider when you set your #goals for 2019 and how to ~actually~ achieve them.
Keep it real
Contrary to what cheerleading prophecies will have you believe, setting a New Year’s resolution should not be aggressive B-E-Aggressive. Your goals should be realistic and achievable. Focus on new habits that are within reach before setting the bar high. For example…
Swap: “I’m going to run a marathon”
For: “I’m going to dedicate more time to running”
Write it down
There’s something to be said for writing your goals down. By taking pen to paper, you’re making your goals tangible and endorsing your thoughts. Be it a discreet note in your diary, on your fridge, on a sticky note attached to the bottom of your screen at work – these notes may be what stops you caving for a $6 white chocolate and raspberry muffin come 3 pm every weekday. Which, FYI, totals 2,035 calories per week, or $1,560 per year, depending on what your goal is.
Break it down
Much in keeping with point one, by breaking down your overall vision into bite-sized goals, you’re more likely to get on the rewarding buzz of blitzing the milestones that keep you in good stead for the big goal, as opposed to frequently failing at the big goal and throwing it in altogether. I.e. You’re not going to drop 10kgs by April, but you can steadily lose 2kgs per month. Or focus on increasing your ratio of healthy home-prepared meals each week. That kind of thing.
Visual reminders
Visualisation is an incredibly powerful tool (when used in moderation) to keep you on track on the road to being a #boss. You might hate your job right now but if you’re able to visualise yourself six months, one year or two years down the track doing it is what you really want, or putting down the deposit on the house you’re saving for, then it’s easier to remain positive.
Just look at Taylor Swift in this gif – she’s so content in remaining single she’s already arrived at multiple cat status, and you know what? It looks pretty great if you ask us.
Make yourself accountable
It’s one thing to tell yourself what you want to achieve because it’s only yourself you’re letting down if you back out and there’s no consequence for doing so. But by telling friends, family or colleagues what you’re focusing on for the year, you’re more likely to tweak your actions to align with what you’ve been harping on about. You’ll hardly get away with social smoking if you’ve just told everyone you want to quit…
Ask for support
It is totally acceptable to ask for help. In fact, you’ll find most people will love to help you achieve your goals. Look to your support system to discern a series of activities or contingency plans/words of encouragement for when times get tough. Set up weekly walks, fitness classes, or make your friends swear to you that they’ll not let you buy three kebabs and two Big Macs at the end of your night out despite your protests. And when that moment comes, don’t get mad at them for doing it either. They’ve just got your best interests at heart.
Don’t beat yourself up
Sometimes life is rough. Whether your resolution is to save a tonne of money, get healthy, quit smoking, floss your teeth or is a result of reasons beyond your control, it’s okay to fail or sidestep on the odd occasion. But don’t beat yourself up about it. We’re only human. Learn from what caused you to lose focus, wrap up your temporary pity party and move on. You’re blessed with an entirely new day tomorrow. It’s all good.
Celebrate your wins
When you crush your milestones, celebrate them. Easy as that. You’ve worked hard, you deserve it, but don’t celebrate with actions that undo all of your hard work. You wouldn’t celebrate three months of sobriety with a round of tequila shots now, would you? Of course not. But an out of town shopping trip looks pretty good…
