What a year 2024 was!
It was unlike any other we’ve all seen, that’s for sure.
I don’t know about you, but I’ll be glad to put some things about 2024 in my rearview mirror. I’m believing in a much better 2025 on all levels, as I’m sure you are too.
With the New Year here, most people start writing down or at least thinking about New Year resolutions. In fact, many people come up with a whole list of New Year’s resolutions and have great intentions of following through with them.
Some of the most common resolutions include:
- losing weight
- eating healthier
- exercising regularly
- beginning a hobby
- getting out to have more fun
I think resolutions are great because essentially, they’re just goals. And, having goals in life is a wonderful way to make progress. It’s helpful to create personal, professional, social, relationship, and financial goals in mind and written down on paper to be at your best or at least be progressing.
New Year, New Goals: 7 Tips To Follow Through On Your Resolutions→
New Year’s Resolutions Challenges
Along with New Year’s resolutions come challenges.
I’m sure most of us have made a resolution and broken it within a few weeks due to one reason or another.
If this is the case for you, take heart. Read further for some of the challenges of New Year’s resolutions and then head into your New Year pumped up for the changes you’d like to see happen.
Creating goals for the New Year is probably the easiest part.
Most people have some pretty high hopes and dreams that they want to accomplish, but the challenge comes when they get one to two weeks into the New Year and forget all about them. There certainly are challenges that come with making change.
However, there are things you can do to get past them.
6 Ways to Help You Recover From Last Year’s Burnout & Achieve Your Resolutions→
4 Things to Help You Beat Your New Year’s Resolutions Challenges
1. Befriend motivation.
To accomplish any goal, it takes some motivation on your part.
As I’m sure you know, sometimes it is tough to feel motivated to keep working toward a goal. You might lose two pounds and be eating great for a while, but then the motivation wanes and before you know it, you’re back to your unhealthy eating habits.
Or maybe you’ve been feeling lonely and would like some new friends. You might attend a community gathering once or twice, and then get right back to hibernating at home.
You simply lose steam.
To keep your motivation levels high, there are several things that you can do.
The first thing to do is to write your New Year’s resolutions down on a piece of paper and then put that list in a place that you will see frequently.
Put it on the fridge, on your bathroom mirror, at the office, or on your dashboard.
You can even have your Echo or Alexa device remind you of your list every day.
The key is to see (or hear) your goals each day so that you don’t forget what your resolutions are.
This helps you to stay motivated.
The second thing you can do is to listen to or read motivational audio that will keep you inspired and encouraged to keep moving forward toward your goals.
There are plenty of motivational speakers and authors that gladly share tips and tricks to get you where you want to go. You can also start following our Daily Motivation YouTube channel, where we post motivational videos every day!
2. Ignore those negative thoughts.
One thing that keeps people from accomplishing goals are their thoughts.
Your thoughts matter, as thoughts influence your emotions, attitude, and behavior. If you are thinking predominantly negative thoughts, chances are your attitude and behaviors are affected. This decreases your chances of accomplishing your goals.
The good news is you can train your brain to become more positive.
Positive affirmations are a great start. I encourage you to make a list of positive affirmations or statements about yourself and your goals. Say these affirmations out loud as often as you can, as they will help your thoughts go from negative to positive.
As you speak them, try to feel the emotions associated with them too. Feel empowered, joyful, excited, courageous, etc.
3. Nothing changes if nothing changes.
If you want the New Year to be different, understand the phrase:
“Nothing changes if nothing changes.”
What this means is that you have got to make the effort to make some changes in order to accomplish your goals.
For example, let’s say you want to save $5,000 next year in your savings account. This might not be the first time you’ve made a resolution to save money, but at the end of the year you end up with no money in savings.
Why?
Not enough changes were made in your life. Good intentions and even writing down a goal will not bring about change. Sit down and figure out what needs to change.
- Do you spend too much money on things you don’t really need?
- Do you give away money you don’t have to?
- Do you impulse shop?
- Have you slacked on your work hours?
- Could you put more hours in or get a second job?
Really make the effort to make some changes, because the reality is that “nothing changes if nothing changes.”
4. Set realistic goals.
Do your best to set realistic goals.
If you set goals that are unrealistic, you’ll become frustrated and give up. If you’re not sure if your goals are realistic, perhaps you can ask a friend or family member for their input. Just be sure they are positive people, rather than “Negative Nellies”.
Set milestones if you desire. For example, if you want to attend college and get a degree, set a milestone for the steps toward attaining that degree.
- Apply to the college
- Fill out financial aid forms
- Talk with student advisor
- Enroll in the first semester
- Etc.
There’s no time like right now to get started on attaining your goals.
It is the perfect time of year to set your New Year’s resolutions. Sit down and create a short-term and long-term goal list and create an action plan to accomplish the goals. Take your time as you really mull over the areas of your life you want to change and new goals you’d like to accomplish.
Then place that list in a spot that you will see frequently.
You can accomplish your goals step by step as you keep yourself motivated and celebrate your progression along the way.
And don’t forget to enjoy your journey.
Photo by Thiago
Editor’s note: This article was originally published January 5th, 2021 and has been updated to improve reader experience.
