We are already back into the swing of things here at Lazy Susan HQ after a lovely few weeks off over Christmas.
Many of us made New Year’s Resolutions, and while some have broken them already (you know who you are), most of us are trying hard to stick to them.
According to research by Discover Happy Habits:
“Of those who make a New Year's resolution, after 1 week 75% are still successful in keeping it. After two weeks, the number drops to 71%. After 1 month, the number drops again to 64%. And after 6 months, 46% of people who make a resolution are still successful in keeping it.”
Which, we’ll be honest, we were surprised the figure was as high as 46% after 6 months. However, there’s a whole host of reasons why we break them, from setting ourselves unrealistic goals in the first place to nagging self-doubt.
There’s even a school of thought that says New Year’s Resolutions don’t work at all, and I suppose the research would back that up somewhat with 25% of people quitting after the first week. But we don’t want to focus on the negative...
At Lazy Susan we think the New Year’s Resolution is a good thing. A way to focus your mind for the year ahead. The saying “New year, new you” is a little cheesy but starting the year off with a little positivity and focused on making some real change in your life has to be a good thing, right?
Lazy Susan’s 10 steps to keeping your New Year’s Resolutions
The Lazy Susan team have got our heads together, no negativity, no judgment, and compiled the 10 best ways you can stick to your New Year’s Resolutions in 2022, whatever they may be.
And it doesn’t matter if it’s to exercise more, eat healthier, travel more or give up a bad habit, these steps will hopefully help you make that positive change.
1. Set a realistic New Year's Resolution
The quickest route to failure when trying to stick to a New Year’s Resolution is to make your goal too difficult to attain in the first place. Start small and build up to whatever it is you want to change. Take an incremental approach and keep your motivation by keeping things going on a step by step basis.
2. Make a plan
Start by making a clear achievable plan. Think about what tactics you can use when you're faced with challenges. Do a little research and see how others have got to where you want to be, and formulate what will work for you.
3. Set your goals
Write your plan down, a contract with yourself, the pros and cons and set attainable goals you can work towards ticking off that step by step list. Don't try and run before you can crawl, if need be, start small and build it up.
4. Talk about it with friends and family
Discuss your resolution with close friends and family, they will give you the honest feedback and support you’ll need to achieve your goals and stick to your resolution.
5. Set rewards for hitting your goals
As long as the reward doesn’t undermine your ultimate goal, then rewarding yourself for hitting each step can be a great motivator. For example, if you’re looking to lose weight, allow yourself one cheat meal on a Friday night but remain disciplined on the other 6 days.
6. Track your progress on a chart or calendar
Any kind of visual tracking is a great way to focus the mind. Be it a wall chart, calendar or an app such as Google Keep. It will help you see the success you’re making or remind you of where you’ve maybe lost focus.
7. Don’t be too hard on yourself
And speaking of losing focus, don’t be too hard on yourself. It is better to lose sight of your goals for a day or two and come back to them refreshed than to give up altogether.
8. Focus on the big picture
Try and focus on motivating yourself for simple every day to help you achieve long-term goals. As Forbes put it in their article How To Actually Keep Your New Year Resolutions:
“The big picture is always motivational, so don’t just focus on laying bricks, keep in mind the cathedral you’re building”.
9. Make it a habit
Experts say that it takes between 20 and 30 days for any new changes to become a habit and up to six months for it to become part of your daily life. In other words, change doesn’t happen overnight, so keep focused on your ultimate goal and be patient with yourself.
10. Don’t give up
Last but by no means least, don’t give up. It is often a very fine line between success and failure. By setting achievable goals and utilising the right steps or tactics you can achieve them. And in the end, it is not always about the end goal, it’s the journey you make along the way.
If you have any tips on how you’ve stuck to your New Year’s resolutions, please drop them in the ‘Write A Comment’ box below.