New Year Resolutions: 8 Tips To Stick To What You Commit

When you think of celebrating the new year, what comes to your mind? More often than not, it will be on your list of new year's resolutions. Take a moment to reflect back on some of the previous new year's resolutions you may have made. How often were you able to stick to them?

What Is A Resolution?

The well-known, universal tradition of celebrating the New Year is creating resolutions for the year. These resolutions are promises or commitments we make for ourselves. It’s an interesting concept because, through this, we pave the way and direction in which we want to go throughout the year.

Usually, when a resolution is made, it is done in the spirit of change and evolution, hoping that this year will be different and the goals you set out to achieve will be easier. Whether you have put some thought into it or not, you strive for what you want to achieve at that moment.

The excitement and drive to make these resolutions are very real at the moment, however, as time passes, either they are forgotten, or the passion for these promises fades away.

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Sticking To Your Resolutions

We all experience change constantly, what we think we may have time for, suddenly may vanish, without even realising it. Sometimes, while going through everyday experiences, it can be difficult to pay attention to our resolutions. However, there are ways to get back on track! Here are a few tips and tricks as to what can help in remaining consistent with the promises we make to ourselves.

Create Pockets Of Time

24 hours a day is actually quite a lot, the problem is sometimes we may be all over the place, so we don't realise where time is going. Intend on setting aside even five minutes a day to work on a resolution that you have created for yourself.

The idea is to work on it a little bit, but consistently. If more time is needed, then another way to do it is to set pockets of time throughout the day, break 30 minutes into 3 intervals of 10 mins each, spread across the 24 hours.

For example – If my new year's resolution is to read more, I can read for 10 mins, 3 times a day, whenever it is convenient for me.

Set An Intention

The power of thought is such that if we were to genuinely put our minds to something, we can move mountains. Intention setting can be tricky because it is mistaken with a passing thought. While setting an intention, is making a resolve to act on something we deem important to do. This can be done in different ways.

Before you go to sleep, close your eyes for a minute and imagine what the day would look and feel like when you are working on your resolution. Create a mental image and in those moments tell yourself, “I am already working on this and will see the difference soon!”.

Another way to set an intention is right before you sleep, take a pen and paper, write down how you intend to work on the resolution, and keep that paper under your bed. This will make a huge difference.

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Write Down How You Intend To Work On Your Resolution

Commit Yourself To It

This is interesting because making a commitment can be done in different ways.

Intrinsic Commitment | The first type of commitment is the intrinsic one. The commitment we make within ourselves to work on the resolution, however, with this, it is easy to slip into the pattern of letting it go every time we decide not to follow through.

External Commitment | Make an external commitment to yourself by telling people what your resolution is, that way someone is more likely to follow up with you as to how it’s going.

Another way to commit externally would be to ask someone to be your accountability buddy. This essentially means you pick someone from your friends' circle or family to keep checking in with you about the progress of your resolution. Having discussions and talking about progress and challenges can help cement the process and provide motivation to follow through.

Challenge Yourself

Sometimes when we are consistent with our practice of resolutions, it may get monotonous or feel boring, that’s our system's way of telling us we need to “up the game”. Make small adjustments to your plan and make it slightly challenging. Push yourself a little to get more from your resolution.

For example – If my new year's resolution is to work on my plank after a month of practicing the plank consistently, holding it for 40 seconds becomes too easy. I would modify my resolution to hold the plank for 1:15 mins. This will increase my benefit and make it more interesting for me to follow through as there is something new to look forward to.

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Modify Your Resolution

Sometimes, out of sheer excitement, we may set unreasonably high expectations for ourselves, instead of it motivating us, it may work to discourage us. That’s the time we re-look at the resolution and change it up a bit, for it to seem more doable. Nothing is cast in stone.

Nothing Is Cast In Stone, So Modify Your Resolution If You want

Reward Yourself

Sticking to these resolutions is an achievement! Find ways to celebrate yourself every now and then. Create milestones for your journey and celebrate it every time you reach somewhere. It can be based on the time intervals where you have been consistent, it can also be based on how much of your goal you have achieved. Find what works for you!

Let Your Phone Remind You

This is simple enough, set reminders or task lists on your phone, that way there is less of a chance that it is missed. There are apps in-built into your phone and ones that you can download to gamify your experience. A lot of times, technology is our friend, make use of it as it helps to build that habit.

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Create A Time Capsule

Did you know that there are ways in which we can travel back in time? One easy way to do this is by journaling. Take 10 minutes a day to write down your journey and what you accomplished. As time passes, your journal will be full of memories, whether they are written or have photos. In six months, when you read through those pages, it will take you back to that moment.

The feeling you experience will be euphoric as you reminisce about your past wins, the challenges, and how you overcame them.

The resolutions we make to mark the start of a new year are a universal tradition that we follow to bring the new year in with a sense of direction, hope, and change. While at that moment we may be very excited to see them through, everyday life can derail us from that journey.

There are ways to stick to our resolutions, but we have to find what works for us. Each of us is different and unique. Making time throughout the day for our resolutions is important and requires a consistent effort, it is also just as important to reward yourself. This article talks about just a few tips, there are many more that you may think through and apply.

Get to know what works and follow through on the promises you make to yourself, and we can promise you, it is extremely gratifying to see the results as time moves on!

Ichha Bhan is a Counselling Psychologist, Personal Growth Coach, and a certified Yoga trainer. She holds more than five years of hands-on experience in working with children and adolescents, helping them and their parents navigate shared emotions, and the challenges of growing up.