3 Ideas For Recovering Your New Year’s Resolutions | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

3 Ideas For Recovering Your New Year’s Resolutions

Reclaiming this year’s goals with patience and perseverance!

47
3 Ideas For Recovering Your New Year’s Resolutions
Pexels

By now we’ve all had time to give our new year’s resolutions an adequate trial period. After all, it’s only supposed to take about 30 days to successfully start a good habit or quit a troublesome one. However, some resolutions require additional support or attempts. Now that we are a month into 2018, you might be thinking that you bit off more than you could chew. Fortunately, you still have eleven months to recover this year’s goals with a little creativity and practicality.

1. Acknowledge your progress.

First, congratulate yourself for each step you’ve made already toward completing your resolutions! You can’t have real success without a lot of trial, error and effort. Changing your lifestyle, especially, will take time and diligence. Maybe you wanted to get healthier this year but ended the first month with a week’s worth of cheat days. Instead of focusing on the negative, first take pride in each soda you resisted or mile you walked.

Similarly, maybe you resolved to learn a new language or craft this year. Even if you aren’t yet as fluent or skilled as you had hoped to be at this point, choosing to take on such a challenge is an accomplishment in itself. After all, you have to learn to crawl before you can run.

2. Reevaluate your reason.

If you find yourself regretting your resolution, that’s all right. It simply might not be the time or place in your life to tackle this specific one. Before you quit, though, ask yourself why you started this one in the first place.

Sometimes wanting to accomplish resolutions as a group feels more like falling to peer pressure instead of using the buddy system. For instance, if everyone’s resolving to work out more this year, choosing to stay home and relax instead might make you feel self-conscious. Sure, it’s important to stay or get healthy, but you have to acknowledge if their exercise schedule or routine doesn’t work for you. Maybe that fitness class is taking valuable time away from doing something you’ve always wanted to try. Make sure your resolutions fit your needs and desires, even if they go against the status quo.

3. Consider alternatives.

In addition to not following everyone else’s resolution rituals, don’t be afraid to change your own methods to improve your success. Changing it up might be exactly what you need to feel more encouraged and confident in meeting your resolutions this year. For example, there are dozens of different ways you can add a little exercise to your average day. Go back to the basics. Instead of going all the way to the gym after an exhausting day, use the stairs instead of the elevator or park your car farther from the entrance.

For at-home based resolutions, you might need to rearrange your day to fulfill your goals at a time when you are more excited and engaged. Changing your form of technology could even be the perfect solution. If you’re like me, resolving to write in your journal every day is much easier said than done. However, keeping a journal online, especially if you spend much of your time on the computer, can make your daily writing feel as easy as typing a new status post. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you personalize your alternatives to be the best fits for you.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Adulting

18 Things I Want To Do Now That I'm 18

I'm technically an adult, so I'm legally required to live a little, right?

198
Happy Birthday Cake

For the entirety of my high school career, I was always seen as the goody-two-shoes. I never got in trouble with a teacher, I kept stellar grades, and when I wasn't doing extracurricular activities, I was at home studying. Even when I did go out, it was usually with a bunch of fellow band geeks. The night would end before 11:00 PM and the only controversial activity would be a fight based on who unfairly won a round of Apples-to-Apples when someone else clearly had a better card (I promise I'm not still holding a grudge).

Now that I'm officially an adult, I want to pursue some new things. I want to experience life in a way that I never allowed myself to do prior to entering college. These are the years that I'm supposed to embark on a journey of self-discovery, so what better way to do that than to create a bucket list?

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics

The holiday classics that shaped my life

78
10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics
Flickr

The holiday season is full of stress, debt, and forced conversation. While we rush through the month of December, it's important to take a step back and enjoy the moments before they're gone. Most families love to watch Christmas movies, but these beloved films provide more than entertainment. Here are 10 life lessons that I've learned from the holiday classics we watch every year.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

198821
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

20041
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less
 silhouette of a woman on the beach at sunrise
StableDiffusion

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments