So, this is it: 2017 has officially begun. This year, as is the custom, many of us will create new resolutions regarding our health, finances, fitness, career, etc. Unfortunately, many of these goals will probably get lost and forgotten after only a couple of days or weeks. Indeed, starting the year with new goals can be very inspiring and extremely motivating. However, as the routine kicks back in and the dust settles down, it becomes extremely hard to commit to these goals. That’s why I would like to share with you today a few helpful tips to show you how to stick to your New Year’s Resolutions. Let 2017 be the year that you not only reach your New Year’s resolutions but you even surpass them!

One of the reasons why I wanted to give you these tips this year is because I used every single one of them to reach and even excel at one of my new year resolutions for 2016 (which was to workout at least 3 to 4 times per week). After reviewing my progress, I was shocked to discover that I stuck to this goal the whole year, and even better that I exceeded it many times that year!

Thus, I am positive that, if you follow these few tips, you too will not only attain your own resolutions but you will also probably beat your own expectations!

Here are some tips on:

How to Stick To Your New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Make your Goals Specific & Detailed

If you ever want to stick to your resolutions for the new year, one important tip is to actually make your goals very specific. If they are too vague and non-specific (e.g. being more active), it will be very hard for you to:

1. Stay motivated
2. Take and implement actions towards it
3. Check your progress

So instead, aim for a goal that contains as many details as possible. For example, instead of “being more active”, choose “running 3 times per week” or ” attending yoga class 3 times per week”. The goal here is to have a solid idea of what it is you want to achieve and knowing how, which leads us to my next tip.

2. Plan the HOW

It’s all nice and good to have a list of goals at the beginning of the year, but if you don’t plan how you will get there, I can guarantee you that you will give up after your first set of obstacles. In order to better plan for HOW you will get there, start thinking about the usual obstacles you may encounter and how you will overcome them.

E.g. If your goal is to eat more healthy this year, then plan ahead as to how you will make it happen. You might need to hire a nutritionist to guide you along the way. Or you might need to start planning your grocery shopping and menus for the week.

 

Basically, think of the kinds of obstacles you might encounter along the way and prepare your solutions. This is another sure way to guarantee you sticking to your new goals ;).

3. Make it PUBLIC

This is another great experiment for you to try this year. Whatever it is that you wish to accomplish this year, make a public statement about it! Whether it is to your family, close friends, lover or even on your social media.. make a pubic announcement about it.

I promise you that people will be holding you accountable BIG time. Even better, ASK them to hold you accountable! Trust me, this one doesn’t fail! Once everyone knows what your goal(s) is (are) this year, they will be the first to point their fingers at you or to inquire on your progress… I mean if you think about it, we often hide our desires or intentions because we simply don’t want people to start poking us or asking us a whole bunch of questions. Use this common social behaviour to your advantage this year. Make your resolutions public and get instant accountability :).

4. Grab a Buddy/ Join a Group

Although I use to not be a big fan of this particular tip, it does work wonders for those new goals that can feel intimidating or overwhelming. Whenever you join a group of friends (or grab one other buddy) and you all participate together on a specific goal, you have at least one more incentive to make it happen. Your friends will provide support and motivate you to keep going even when you don’t feel like it. Plus, this is another excellent opportunity to have fun, bond and socialize! Joining online communities, going to group meet-ups or signing up for classes are all great way to make your goals happen this year!

5. Track Your Progress

This has by far been one of my biggest discovery in 2016. Indeed, I stumbled upon this app called Way of Life, which I talked about in this article –> here, and it completely blew me away!

Tracking your progress is another great way to hold yourself not only accountable but also and most importantly motivated! As I would look at my monthly or weekly summary and see that I was actively progressing in my goals, it would totally give me a boost to continue in my tracks.

If you don’t like apps, you can totally do this manually in a journal or notebook. I find apps like Way of Life very easy because they automatically track your progress and create graphs for you to have a good overview of your progress.

So are you ready to kick a#$ this year? What are some of YOUR new year resolutions? And if you have any helpful tips, please share them in the comments below.

Stay vibrant,

Sarah.