How to Keep Your New Year's Resolutions
Are you the kind of person who makes new year's resolutions? Or are you anti-resolutions? The problem with resolutions is that hardly anyone actually keeps them, but that's mostly because most people make new year's resolutions that are either too vague or too impossible. Here are our tips on how you can keep your new year's resolutions for 2013.
Be specific
It's like giving yourself directions. Directions are easier to follow if they sound like, "Turn right at Main St." instead of "Turn right when you see a coffee shop." Likewise, be specific when making your resolutions. Instead of making a resolution to be more social, make a resolution to go out with your friends every two weeks. Instead of making a resolution to be healthier, make a resolution to eat more fruits and vegetables. Instead of making a resolution to read more books, make a resolution to read 26 books (that's 1 book every 2 weeks, btw).
Set time limits or deadlines
This can go hand-in-hand with being specific. For example, instead of making a resolution to lose weight, make a resolution to exercise every other morning at 8am for 30 minutes, or go to the gym on Tuesday and Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. Having a deadline can keep you on track. When you make a resolution to have girls night out every two weeks, get your friends together and put it in everyone's calendar. Muy importante! Put it down on paper or smartphone and set reminders. Another example: instead of making a resolution to learn how to cook, make a resolution to learn and cook one new recipe every month. Now you know that before the month is up, you need to have produced a new dish.
Be realistic
Know your limitations and be realistic with your new year's resolutions. Maybe you like to travel - like we do - but think twice before you make a resolution to visit all 50 US states in one year. Some people have the means and the balls to do this. Kudos to them! But most of us have families, jobs, school, and other responsibilities we should not and do not want to abandon suddenly. So dial it down to visiting one US state you've never been to before.
But be challenging
So here's the fine line. Resolutions have to be realistic so you have some chance of accomplishing them, but they have to be challenging enough that you work hard for them and earn a sense of satisfaction after completion. Savvy? Like the resolution to read 26 books in a year. If you're not used to reading, that's a good resolution: reasonable and challenging. But if you're already a reader, then make it 52 books in a year (that's one book a week).
Reflect and celebrate
We're our own critics, so you need to reflect on how far you've come and celebrate every accomplishment, small and big. Maybe you wanted to lose 15 lbs by June, but had only lost 10 lbs or 5 lbs or 1 lb. Celebrate anyway! Give yourself a pat on the back or a bowl of fiber. You may not have gotten to 15, but you're a step closer, which is a step more than where you were before.
So what's your new year's resolution? What is ours?
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