Creating a successful new year’s resolution that is both realistic and ambitious is not an easy feat, which is why we are writing a guide to a successful New Year’s resolution. Many tend to have a go big or go home mentality when it comes to setting goals for the coming year—which is not always a good thing. Take a second to think about this year’s resolution. How did you do? Did you succeed in everything you listed down? If that’s the case, then congrats are in order. However, if not, don’t feel bad or discouraged from giving it another go. Take note of where and why you slipped up. Always be grateful for what you managed to achieve this year, even if not everything you hoped for came to fruition. Our “failures” are an important part of our growth journey.
We always held a strong belief that when we act together, we’re stronger and more successful than ever. Feel free to use this post as a guide to a successful 2024 new year’s resolution. We’ll be discussing why so many new year resolutions fail and what may help you see a positive change in yours. We hope to inspire you and help give you the push you need to kickstart this upcoming year on a positive note.
What Are The Most Common New Year’s Resolutions?
According to a survey done by Statista, more than half of Americans make goals related to weight loss or eating habits each year. Another large percentage of respondents set career or financial goals. And another group focused on personal goals, like renovating their homes, spending more time with their loved ones, or cutting back on social media.
As you can see, there’s a wide range of New Year’s resolutions out there, but they all have one thing in common — they have to be personally meaningful. A good New Year’s resolution is one that resonates with what you want for your life. It will keep you motivated to work towards them, even when you don’t feel like it.
An “All-Or-Nothing” Mentality
New Year’s resolutions tend to encourage “all-or-nothing” thinking. Success is measured as either a complete win or a complete failure.
The problem with such “all-or-nothing” goals is that they don’t accommodate for even the slightest slip-ups. Once you fall off the bandwagon, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up entirely.
All-or-nothing thinking can be the result of self-sabotage. Without realizing it, many of us may believe that we’re undeserving of success. This means that we’re constantly battling with ourselves as we subconsciously engage in behaviors that actively make achieving our goals harder. Such behavior can look like:
- Waiting until the last minute to focus on a time-bound goal (i.e. procrastinating)
- Suffering from imposter syndrome and negative self-talk
- Difficulty creating and maintaining boundaries
Change is Difficult
It is important to be ambitious in life, but keep in mind that in order to achieve life changing goals, you must put in the work and be consistent.
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Break Big Dreams Into Smaller Steps
Taking on too much too quickly is a common reason why so many New Year’s resolutions fail. Starting an unsustainably restrictive diet, overdoing it at the gym, or radically altering your normal behavior are surefire ways to derail your plans. Instead, focus on taking tiny steps that will ultimately help you reach your larger goal.
As mentioned in Harvard’s Seven steps for making your New Year’s resolutions stick article, small steps move you forward to your ultimate goal. Just getting to first base can build your confidence to tackle — and succeed at — more difficult tasks. Don’t disdain easy choices. Break hard jobs down into smaller line items, and enjoy breezing through the easy tasks first.
Set Milestones
Rewarding ourselves and embracing our successes is very important to keep us inspired and determined. A good strategy for achieving goals that take time to obtain is to set milestones. These milestones may help us recognise our successes no matter how small. Aside from this, they also keep us grounded in order to not lose sight of what we’re after.
Importance of Flexible Goals
A very common mistake people make is that they put a deadline on their goals. Many times there’s no room for all those nasty things that life drops on us from time to time. When you are writing down your list, make sure you give yourself enough time to really put in the work to succeed in whatever you’re after, especially if something comes up and you need to dedicate your attention to something else for a while.
Aside from that, these ‘deadlines’ should only be seen as nothing but remarks to help guide you on our journey. Always try to think of the bigger picture. Late is better than never. Furthermore, being flexible with your plan will help you be successful.
Ensure Your Goals Are Aligned With Who You Are
Ultimately, you’re only going to stick to your New Year’s resolutions if they’re aligned with who you are and what truly brings you joy. This may sound obvious, but it’s easy to choose resolutions because they sound like the “right” thing to do—without a thought of whether they’re right for you.
To avoid this trap, take some time to reflect deeply on the following questions:
- What really motivates you?
- What brings you the most joy in your life?
- Have you had trouble sticking to resolutions in the past? What made you give up on them?
- What was your greatest accomplishment last year, and why?
Once you’ve answered these questions, it’ll be easier to work out how you want to grow in the coming year. From here, you can craft specific, measurable resolutions that are aligned with your life priorities.
Checking-in With Yourself
By March, many people tend to lose the motivation that they had back in January. Keep that inspiration alive by checking-in with yourself, evaluate the progress, see how you can do better and the best way to keep working towards your goals. If your current approach is not working, think of new strategies, and develop a new plan.
We hope you found our A Guide To A Successful 2024 New Year’s Resolution post helpful. If you’re looking for more positivity, check out our Finding Your Space & Calming Your Anxiety article.
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