How to Keep your New Year’s Resolutions

How to Keep your New Year’s Resolutions
Génesis Galán
12 step plan for resolutions

Tired of failure? Follow this 12-step plan.

Every year we get a chance for making a fresh start. We have a new opportunity to pursue goals, get rid of unhealthy habits, and grow in our personal and professional lives. Year after year we make New Year’s resolutions, and time after time we break them. How can we end this cycle?

According to a survey by Statista, only four percent of people who made New Year’s resolutions in 2018 kept them. One can’t help but wonder why we continue to make promises we can’t keep. Maybe it’s because resolutions give people hope—hope that their lives can be better.

If you’re not ready to give up hope, this 12-step resolution plan is for you.

1. Adjust your mindset

The unhealthy habits you’re trying to eliminate probably took years to develop, and ambitious goals can take years to accomplish. Accept that change is a challenging, long process. If it were easy, we wouldn’t need resolutions.

2. Be realistic

Pursuing unrealistic, unattainable goals is the surest way to fail. When you resolve to never again eat your favorite food, lose 20 pounds a month or stop smoking cold turkey when you’ve tried this method many times without success, you set yourself up for failure. Focus on realistic, attainable goals.

3. Stick to one or two resolutions

You may have a laundry list of worthy resolutions, but working on more than one or two at a time will increase your chances of failure. Choose one or two complementary resolutions and focus all your energy on those.

4. Take small steps

Don’t bite more than you can chew. Trying to achieve too much, too quickly is a common reason New Year’s resolutions fail. If you resolve to run a marathon, you won’t make it to the finish line unless you start out by jogging smaller distances several times a week. If you resolve to lose 40 pounds, start by focusing on the first five. Break down your goals into smaller steps.

5. Expect setbacks

If you expect smooth sailing from the time you make a resolution to the time you reach your goal, you’ll give up after the first slip. When you stumble — and you will stumble — don’t beat yourself up. Start fresh the next day. Keep going.

6. Choose your own goals

Choose a resolution that motivates you. Don’t let others choose for you. Don’t cave into the pressure of choosing what’s important for someone else or society in general.

7. Plan ahead

Don’t wait until the last minute—that is, New Year’s Eve—to make your resolution. Planning is an essential part of reaching any goal. Start earlier in the month to define your resolution and what you need to do to reach your goal.

8. Write it down

Successful goal-oriented individuals and businesses don’t wing it. They define their goals carefully and create blueprints specifying the steps they need to take to reach these goals and how to tackle the obstacles they will face. You want a new career? Write down exactly what you want and what you need to do to make it happen.

Consider keeping a resolution journal to track your progress. Make sure to include motivational quotes to keep you inspired.

9. Use the buddy system

Enlist relatives and friends to support you and hold you accountable. Having a solid support system can help you stay motivated and on the right track. Consider joining a group of people that shares the same resolution.

10. Renew your resolve

Evaluate your resolution and strategies daily or weekly. If you notice that your current approach is not working, reevaluate your plan and adjust it in ways that will help you reach your goals. Actively work on your resolution and your motivation throughout the year, not just at the beginning.

11. Reward yourself

Celebrate your successes by treating yourself to something—a thing or experience—you enjoy that doesn’t contradict your resolution.

12. Don’t give up

It took time to get where you are, so it will take time to get you somewhere else. It won’t be easy. You’ll probably want to quit many times. Don’t. Keep going. Recommit yourself for a mere 24 hours. You can do anything for 24 hours, so take it one day at a time.

Remember: A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.