How To Actually Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions

Aside from the obligatory “2020 vision” and “my top 10 of 2019” posts on social media, students are ringing in their resolutions for the New Year.

Resolutions that, after a few weeks, will be discarded and forgotten once we lose the motivation to keep up with them.

Let’s face it: it’s not easy to change our habits or lifestyle after the ball drop. Some even agree that New Year’s resolutions should be ditched completely and replaced with other techniques like habit tracking.

But let’s ignore the grinches and focus on ways that you can actually achieve your resolutions.

To instill a habit, according to the Wall Street Journal, you first need the proper motivation. We’d probably sit at home binging Netflix all day without a push and shove in the right direction. Whether it’s the fear of failing your classes, the cute dress you’re trying to fit into, or any plethora of reasons, finding a goal you want to achieve rather than feel obligated to achieve can inspire you to get out of bed.

Taking small steps toward reaching your goals can help you quickly realize them as well. Instead of making the drive to the gym every single day, which can cost money and be easy to give up, aim for a couple of minutes of light stretches or cardio at home. It may seem like you aren’t making much progress, but doing so motivates you to do more exercises over time.

And even though they may be tiny, these goals are far from insignificant. Celebrating the small steps you take can feel productive and should be encouraged more often.

Exercising isn’t necessarily subject to your local Planet Fitness, either. Redefining exercise, from vacuuming your room or using the stairs instead of the elevator, can make your resolutions seem more manageable, according to an article by NPR.

Also, resolutions don’t necessarily have to be tangible; learning how to be a better listener or controlling your rage when a car cuts you off in traffic for the seventeenth time are just as valid as any other goal.

But sometimes, despite how much you try, the temptation to skip the gym for a day or chew someone out for their terrible driving is too strong. And that’s ok. Accepting that you may fail at your resolutions is just a part of the process, according to an article by CNN Health, and beating yourself over it will only make you more discouraged. As with all things in life, it’s best to get back on your feet and continue moving forward.

So pay no mind to the articles and essays explaining why New Year’s resolutions aren’t worth your time. You know yourself better than anyone, and hopefully, you’ll learn how to make the best out of your resolutions in 2020.

Featured photo by bayasaa on Flickr.