It’s that time of year again where we select our New Year’s resolutions. Many resolutions revolve around developing healthy habits, whether that be eating better, working out more, eating out less or putting your physical and emotional health first.
And 61% don’t follow through with their resolutions! Before picking your resolutions for 2019, consider these tips to be sure you’re setting yourself up for success.
Make your resolutions specific
When your resolutions include drastic lifestyle changes, it’s hard to stick to. Instead of coming up with a resolution of “working out more,” make your goal more specific such as “work out 2-3 times a week.” Start small and build on that throughout the year, or year-over-year.
Select multiple resolutions
Setting more than one resolution for the year allows you to accomplish little victories throughout the year.
I like to set a handful of resolutions for myself, some that are related to my health, while others are about experiencing new things in life. My resolutions last year included traveling abroad, losing 10 pounds, practicing self-love, reading more, seeing a Broadway show in Chicago, counting macros and meal planning better, working up to a pull-up, running a half marathon and budgeting better. While I didn’t accomplish all of them, I was able to check a few off the list. Most of the ones I was unable to accomplish were due to external factors like injuries and finances. And I’m ok with that!
Don’t restrict your resolutions to health
Just because many American’s have health-related New Year’s resolutions, doesn’t mean yours have to be! If you’ve always wanted to travel to Germany or see your favorite comedian live, make that your goal! Find something that makes you happy or will better yourself and start working towards it.
Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t accomplish your resolution(s)
Not hitting your resolution isn’t the end of the world. Maybe your goal was to lose 20 pounds and you only lose 10. That’s still an accomplishment in itself! As long as you are making active progress towards your New Year’s resolutions, that’s all that matters!