How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
Do you make New Year's Resolutions? Do you ever actually keep them?
I enjoy making goals at the beginning of each new year. They really help me focus my time on what's most important.
But it's very easy to make resolutions that you'll never keep if you're not careful. Here are some tips to help you create goals that you can actually reach!
1. Be specific.
New Year's Resolutions are often nebulous ideas like “lose weight”, “exercise”, “eat more healthy”, “be a better wife, mom, friend, etc.”
How can you stick to something that's not even clear? A better idea would be to create a goal to lose    x    pounds this year or to eat one salad every day. Make a goal to write a love note to your husband or bake his favorite treat once a week. Make it your goal to spend 15 minutes of one-on-one time with each of your children every day.
2. Don't wait to start.
If you shouldn't be eating junk food on Jan. 1, you shouldn't be eating junk food on December 31st either. If you should be exercising on January 1, you should be exercising Dec. 31st too. Whatever it is that you know you should be doing — you should start right now! If you're not going to discipline yourself to start now, you're not going to discipline yourself to keep at it either. Developing good habits is a daily choice you have to make, and if you're not willing to make that choice today, you're definitely not willing to make it for a whole year.
3. Break your goals down.
If you make a goal to spend more one-on-one time with your kids, figure out how and when you are going to do that. You can't keep a commitment if you don't have a plan for actually seeing it through!
4. Re-evaluate Periodically
Go through next year's calendar and pencil in dates with yourself to do this (once a month is good) so that you don't forget! Have your good intentions of writing a love note to your husband turned into reality? If not, why? What do you need to change so that you actually accomplish your goal? Is your goal something you need to cross off your list altogether?
5. Get an accountability partner
Give your spouse, friend, blog readers(?) a list of your goals so they can check up on you periodically. If you've determined to only eat one dessert a month, your hubby can hold you to it when he sees you sneaking treats out of the freezer or pantry. 🙂
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What other tips do you have for keeping your New Year's Resolutions?