Keeping and Conquering New Year's Resolutions!
Setting New Year's resolutions is a great way to set achievable goals for ourselves at the start of the new year. For most of us, keeping our resolutions is always easier said than done. These tips will help you start fresh and keep going to conquer your resolutions this year!
Struggling To Get Back On Track With Your Resolutions Now That January Has Come To An End? These Hints Will Help You Start Fresh And Accomplish Your Goals.
Setting New Year's resolutions is one thing, but by February most of us need a do-over. Here are my main tips and tricks to starting over with a method to success to own your resolutions and enjoy your year.
Written By: Ila Meza
Health guru, yoga instructor and Voke editor.
1. Start with Weekly/Monthly Goals
Most people enjoy setting New Year's Resolutions as a way to get excited about the coming year and to get motivated to tackle some bigger goals.
It can be overwhelming to think about our goals or resolutions in terms of a full year. A year's worth of expectations means lots of space for procrastination and stress and guilt if we don't accomplish what we wanted quickly.
To make setting new goals more attainable, try shifting your focus away from a whole year-long goal to something smaller and more reasonable.
Start by breaking down the larger goals you had in mind in January. Separate larger resolutions into monthly goals, or even weekly goals to make easier to attain mini-goals.
The more accessible the goal, the easier it is to remain stress-free while working to accomplish it. Also the shorter timelines mean more opportunity for success!
Shorter goals like monthly and weekly goals mean we can feel less guilt if we miss a week of resolution, which decreases the pressure we put on ourselves.
If you had a bad week, don't worry! Start fresh the next week and start feeling successful a week at a time, then a month at a time and before you know it, the year will fly by!
Hint: February is here, start a new goal for the month of February and watch your good habits build!
According to U.S. News & World Report, 80 percent of New Year's resolutions fail by February. So February is a great time to start over and set New resolutions!
2. Set Specific Goals and Intentions
As we start our new year, most of our resolutions tend to be more vague and general, like "Be more successful", or "get in shape".
To be better equipped to accomplish our goals, we should work to set specific goals. These can include details and numbers so we have something we can gauge our progress by.
For example; if your goal is to exercise more, choose something specific to focus your efforts. Try smaller goals like "I will go jogging for at least 15 minutes, 2x a week" and work up from there.
If you are working towards your goals a week at a time or a month at a time, consider increasing your specific goals week by week until you reach your ultimate goal.
Keep your goals timely, reasonable, and keep track as you accomplish each small step along the way.
When setting New Year's resolutions, try turning each resolution into a SMART goal. SMART goals are: Specific, memorable, attainable, reasonable, and timely, as created and outlined by Peter Drucker in his book "The Practice of Management" which has become the gold standard in goal setting.
3. Start with Energy
Motivation to fulfill our resolutions can begin with as little as a cup of green tea or grabbing healthier snacks so we have more energy and feel better throughout the day.
One of the biggest challenges people face when it comes to conquering their resolutions is having the energy to try.
We all lead busy lives which is often the reason people abandon their goals early on. To set ourselves up for greater success, we should start by finding healthy ways to increase our energy and clarity so we feel prepared to tackle each step towards our goals.
Given our current day and age, there are so many healthy alternatives to give us a positive lift in our day. One of those amazing options is Voke, which is a superfood chewable designed to improve mental focus, clear thinking and upbeat mood.
On-the-go healthy energizers can give us the lift we need to feel motivated enough to take on our resolutions with a good attitude, ready for success.
Here are my favorite energizers:
- Orange oil or citrus oil diffuser for the home
- Green Tea to start the day
- Voke for the mid-morning and mid-afternoon
- Green-juice for any snack-time
The scent of citrus (orange, lemon, grapefruit, bergamot, ect.) can help boost serotonin levels and give your mood a great lift. Using a diffuser is a great option to fill your home with citrus smells through essential oils to help you stay in a good mood and feel ready to take on any resolution!
4. Create an Environment for Success
To make our goals into solid attainable and measurable steps, there are many tools in our homes and lives we can use to support us along the way.
- Try a calendar meant to track all the small steps. Write out each small step for each day, and have a stack of stickers to mark off each day of success.
- Mini White boards, or fridge white boards are a great to track daily to-do's and wants. The best part is the feeling of joy as you wipe each item off your list.
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Vision boards give a huge advantage if you need visual encouragement and reminders. Cork boards can be a great way to organize your vision board images to reinforce incremental or large scale goals.
- Use you Phone as a huge support. Calendar reminders from your phone or goal tracking apps can send you notifications to bring goals back into your mind throughout the day, and on-the-go.
Writing out specific small goals means you have ways to track your progress and remind yourself of your goals regularly, even in the chaos of daily routines.
You can also write out days days to reward yourself if you complete your goals for that week or month! For example you can place a gold star on your calendar at the end of the month to celebrate with a favorite meal or treat!
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