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.
