It’s the middle of January and you find that your new year resolutions are already beginning to slip. Although it is true – about 40% of people who make resolutions do tend to give up on them half way through, but a study also found that people who make resolutions were ten times more likely to bring about positive changes in themselves in a period of six months versus those who wanted to change but did not make a resolution.
The way I see it, why give up on any chances of being happier with yourselves? All it requires is a little planning and the right kind of attitude. So here are a few helpful tips that will help you stay the course:
Self Efficacy is the Key
In order to achieve goals, you need to have belief in your ability to succeed, be specific about the task which needs to be done and be honest about your abilities in doing the aforementioned task. So let’s say Dhruv wants to lose weight. He first needs to believe that despite his cravings for greasy food he will be able to lose the weight he wants to, then he needs to be specific about it- how much weight does he want to lose? Is he looking at just weight loss or more at fat loss? Let’s say he decides he needs to lose 35 kgs, he then needs to spend some time thinking and planning. Will it be possible to lose 35 kgs this year or will it be better and more realistic to lose 10 to 15 kgs and keep it off? The more specific, honest and organized you are – the higher the chances to succeed.
Persist
I cannot stress on this enough – do not quit after a mistake. Whether you’re trying to lose weight or give up alcohol or stop spending money uselessly - it’s only natural that you’ll slip once or twice. You may have that glass of wine and that bag which you don’t need but is oh so beautiful will tempt you and that’s fine! The important thing is to carry on. Pick yourself up after a mistake and recommit to your goal. Growth is not linear, mistakes do not mean that growth has not occurred – it just means you need to keep going at it.
Rewards Help
Try to be softer with yourself. It’s easy to keep cutting yourself down for every mistake and for everything which doesn’t work out, but it’s far more healthier and fulfilling to track what you’ve achieved – even if it’s lesser than what would have been ideal. Rewarding yourself from time to time – be it with desert or with a new outfit- helps. It keeps you more motivated to achieve your tasks and refuels you to keep going on.
Make Yourself Accountable
It’s easy to just make a laundry list of things you want to do and then keep giving up on them as the year passes by if you don’t have a way to make yourself accountable. So involve a friend or a sibling, maybe swap a list of your goals and keep checking in with each other, or maybe you can even try to do it together. The important thing is to be accountable to someone or even yourself if that works for you (via journaling or check lists) about the progress you’re making or the actions you’re taking to meet your goals.
Like with almost everything else in life, if you go about it in a planned manner with a can-do attitude and just keep moving on, a New Year resolution might just help you make 2019 a transformative year for you!
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)