10 Tips to Achieve your New Year’s Resolutions in 2021
New Year’s Resolutions: those promises that we make to ourselves at the start of the New Year but hardly if ever, follow through with them.
Self-improvement and growth are not easy, in fact, Jim Rohn said: “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
The first step in achieving your New Year’s resolutions is maintaining the motivation that encouraged you to pursue the New Year’s resolution in the first place.
But you will not have to face this fight on your own! We have put together 10 tips to achieve your New Year’s resolutions in 2021 to help you stay on track.
How to Achieve your New Year’s Resolutions
If you have made New Year’s resolutions in the past and broken them, do not feel guilty – today is the day that you will learn how to break the cycle and follow through with your New Year plans!
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Be Realistic
When choosing a New Year’s resolution to pursue, it is important to choose one that is achievable. If your New Year’s resolution is to become more physically active, then it would be unrealistic for your first goal to be jogging 10km.
If you set unrealistic goals for yourself, you will only become despondent and disappointed when you struggle to achieve them. Set more attainable goals to motivate yourself to keep going.
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Start Simple
Starting simple ties in well with being realistic. If you would like to become more active, rather make your first goal something smaller like going for a run twice a week. From there you can start expanding on your goals.
By starting simple you are giving yourself measurable goals that can be ticked off as you make progress. The satisfaction of achieving these small goals will help to keep you motivated to keep trying.
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Find a Safety Net
Even if you are motivated, it is possible to quite easily fall off the bus. Choose a friend or family member that you can talk to when you are feeling demotivated and let them remind you why you are pursuing this goal in the first place. Sometimes all you need is a reaffirming pat on the shoulder to get up and carry on.
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Write a List of Pros and Cons
It might come across as cliché, but good old pros and cons list never hurt anyone. Layout the advantages and disadvantages that will come about from the goal you have set and, from there, you will be able to build a list of reasons as to why you would like to work toward achieving this New Year’s resolution.
Whenever you think of a new reason, add it to the list!
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Reward Yourself
When you have achieved a goal, it is good to reward yourself. If you are on a diet this does not necessarily mean giving in to a cheat (although one cheat a week cannot do much harm – within reason).
If your goal is to become fitter, then reward yourself with a new pair of running shoes! You decide what the biggest motivating factor will be. Once you have reached your reward, determine a new goal with a new reward at the end!
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Keep Track of your Progress
Keep a diary that tracks your progress and goals. On days where you are lacking motivation, flip through the diary and see where you began and how far you have come since you started your journey.
Think of all the hard work and hours you have dedicated to achieving this New Year’s resolution and use that positive energy to put yourself back on track.
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Don’t be Hard on Yourself
Did you not feel like running today? Did you give in to a sneaky-treat? It’s okay!
It is important to not guilt yourself when you stray off the path. Our words can either break us down or build us up and constantly knocking yourself down will only keep you further from achieving your goals.
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Find ways to Renew your Motivation
If you are feeling demotivated, find new ways to motivate yourself.
If you are on a diet, go see a dietician and ask for some advice. Or buy a book! The world is vast and full of ways to motivate yourself – you just have to find what best motivates you.
Although, it is important to determine what your motivational factors are. If you do not have intrinsic motivation, then you will not work as hard to achieve your goals. Do not try to change for someone else: change should come from within.
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Set Goals in your Everyday Life
Unfortunately, we all lead busy lives. It is not always simple to rearrange our schedules to accommodate new goals or lifestyle changes.
This is why it is important to set your goals within the parameters of your current schedule. There is always time to make changes in the future but drastically changing your entire lifestyle is a fast way to derail your new goals. Start with small, simple changes.
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Don’t Give Up
Most importantly – do not give up!
Self-improvement is a difficult journey but a worthwhile one. Keep working hard to achieve your goals and remember that you are capable of anything that you set your mind to.
Just keep your eye on the prize and you will keep walking straight towards the goal.
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How do you stay motivated to achieve your New Year’s resolutions? Share your secrets by leaving a comment on Kerrygold’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages for our followers to see.
