Another year means another opportunity to begin again, let go of the past and strive for self-improvement (not to say that you're not already perfect the way you are 😊️). Working towards goals and resolutions help to alleviate the feeling of plateauing, stagnation & boredom and can be great for your self confidence. That is why our first blog post of the year is filled with 6 helpful tips guaranteed to help you keep your resolutions and set you up for an amazing 2021!
Create Measurable Goals
The anticipated first step in achieving your goals this year is to determine what you are interested in improving. It is incredibly common for people to make large blanket statements when they are considering the ways in which they want to improve their lives. This can include sayings like "I want to get more fit", "I want to make more money", "I want to learn new hobbies", and the list goes on. These are all reasonable desires, however, the issue with this kind of statement is how vague and generalized they can be. Due to their imprecise nature, they can seem overwhelming and next to impossible to achieve which often leads to immediate burnout and disinterest. To avoid giving up before you even really begin, make sure you choose measurable goals. For instance, if you want to learn a new language by the end of the year, you can measure your progress through reading comprehension, audible understanding and oral skills. Another example would be if you are looking to save $10,000, you can start by placing 25% of each pay cheque into a saving account, which will lead you to a measurable accomplishment by the end of the year. Having a designated and measurable goal allows you to place realistic expectations on yourself and allows you to see your progress along the way.
Plan Ahead
Taking the time to plan out how your resolutions can make their way into your daily life and off the pages of your journal is one of the biggest steps. Your goals can quickly become overwhelming if you don't spend an adequate amount of time dedicated to devising a plan and organizing your life accordingly. For instance, if you are looking to eat healthy at least 5 times a week, this would require quite a bit of planning surrounding your grocery shopping, meal planning, eating schedule and more. It is unrealistic to expect successful long-term change without creating a game plan in advance, especially since so many of us are creatures of habit and creating new ones often takes lots of conscious decision making and motivation.
Track Your Progress
Giving yourself timestamps and checkpoints to look forward to throughout the year helps to ensure continuous motivation and grants you the time to review your efforts and make any necessary changes to keep you moving towards your goals. This also helps to keep you accountable for your actions and requires you to face the progress you've made so far. You can choose the checkpoints that best suit your goals, such as a weekly, monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly basis. In addition, writing notes or keeping a journal of your goals and timestamp check-ins is a great way to keep track of not only your progress, but also your mindset and thought process throughout your journey.
Learn & Adapt
It is important to remember that life doesn't always go according to plan but that it is still important to keep on persevering. Having setbacks are an avoidable aspect of life, and just because things may not work out exactly how you envisioned them to does not mean that it's okay to give up. Remind yourself that you are still worthy of reaching your goals even if you haven't been able to wake up at 5 a.m. everyday, or if you've forgotten to practice the piano for a few days in a row, or whatever else may have caused a momentary delay.
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the original plan you created, there is absolutely no shame in reevaluating your methods and contriving a new plan of action. Take the knowledge you have gained from the experience with you into your next try and you'll be even better for it!
Keep Yourself Motivated
This is considered one of the most difficult steps by a large group of people. The beginning of the year can seem so full of opportunity and wonder but that often begins to slowly fade as the months go on. Life can get busy and burnout is not an uncommon effect, however, it is incredibly important to remind yourself why you wanted to work on this resolution in the first place and how much it will mean to you once its been achieved. A great way to keep yourself motivated and keep you on the right track is by creating a vision board or another visual representation of your goals. By placing a visual aid in your room, office, kitchen, etc. you are forcing yourself to be confronted by your goals on a daily basis and this will act as a continuous reminder and an affirmation.
Reward Yourself Along The Way
Congratulating and rewarding yourself for the progress you've made is by far one of the most important steps! As human beings, we can often be our own worst critic and many of us have a hard time feeling satisfied with our progressions. Whether you enjoy having a movie night, making yourself a nice dinner, retail therapy or reading your favourite book, take time to treat yourself and allow feelings of proudness, self-accomplishment and contentment to fill you.
We hope you choose to utilize some of these tips & tricks to assist you in working towards your New Year's resolutions and they help you to achieve all of your goals. We wish everyone a very peaceful, positive and prosperous 2021!
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