Staying Resolute

Historically, I have not been a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. It has always seemed like competition in how big you can make the promises that you don't intend to keep. The last couple of years, I have come around to resolutions a little, but only for ones that are honest goals.

Only make resolutions you really plan to follow through on. Take the opportunity to come up with real goals that you are invested in keeping. Don’t overwhelm yourself with resolutions. The more things you try to change at once, the less likely you will succeed at any of them. Try one big resolution or a couple of small ones. I recently read an article by a woman who made one resolution for each month of 2017. (Read it here!) It doesn’t matter how you decide to structure it, as long as it is truly achievable. Resolutions don’t have to be easy (in fact, I would argue that it is better if they are somewhat difficult), but they should be realistic goals.

Then work hard to achieve those goals! Don't expect yourself to naturally start working towards it. Make reminders - you will be shocked at how much these can help! (Read my post on Reminders to get started.)

Even more importantly, remember that you won’t succeed every day (or however frequent your goal happens to be). Avoid beating yourself up about it and don’t try to “catch up.” If you have the mindset of being behind on your goals, you will dig yourself into a hole, which will discourage you from continuing to pursue the goal at all. Adjust your goal if necessary, but move forward.

I personally have made two resolutions this year. First, I aim to meal plan each week. I am hoping that if I plan out meals better, I will order delivery less often as well as eat larger portions of fruits and vegetables. Second, I have always loved learning and there are so many opportunities online to expand my knowledge through free courses or lectures. My goal is to take advantage of a new learning opportunity at least once a week. I haven’t delved into all of the options yet, so this goal may develop or become more specific as I go, but this is my initial plan. I got a new cookbook for Christmas that I am going to use to help my meal planning and I have several sites bookmarked where I can find free learning. I will start out by making myself weekly reminders to do these things and adjust my plan as needed as the year goes on.

What resolutions have you made this year? What are you planning to do to help yourself be successful?