Skip The New Year’s Resolutions This Year!

12 Dec 2019

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This year don’t make any New Year’s resolutions. We give you tips to have a healthy and better lifestyle, the simpler way.

New Year, new resolutions, and new me! Be honest, how many times have you scribbled this in your yearly planner or thought about it? The answer is probably in two digits. Don’t worry we are not going to ask you to think about the times it actually worked. You’re not the only one though; research suggests that almost one-third of people who make these resolutions, don’t go past the second month.

Instead of following a pattern of making and breaking resolutions, why not try something different this year? Whether it is weight-loss, mental health goals, healthy eating or financial planning, give your New Year’s resolution a miss in 2020. However, that doesn’t mean you’re not off the hook, instead, we suggest you try these tips to lead a better life.

Why Don’t New Year’s Resolution Work?

First off, your resolutions may be unrealistic. For instance, your colleague or a magazine suggested that a certain lifestyle is ideal, but it may not work for you in the long run or might be impossible to achieve, currently. Next, there may not be any motivation to continue after a while. For example, you may start with an ideal body type, but soon you realize you don’t enjoy your gym or yoga class and might quit. Plus, let’s not forget that commitment to anything can be hard, especially things that push us out of our comfort zone. You may not realize how much time and hard work go into changing a habit. You could also be overwhelmed by the number of things on your list. From working out to diet, meeting deadlines, spending time with family, and personal growth, multiple things together might make you feel tired and demotivated.

What To Do Instead?

Alright, so we’re not against making goals and turning over a new leaf, but here’s how you can do it.

Rework your intention: Take a look at your intent behind creating a certain resolution. ‘Why are you doing it?’ is more important than ‘what are you doing?’ Hence, make a plan well in advance about what you want to feel like by the end of next year. When you associate goals with a feeling, the push is much more. Ensure that what drives you stems from something positive.

Start NOW: Why wait for the New Year? Take small steps towards your intent right now. This will fuel your emotions and make you feel more positive in all aspects of life because your mind has more faith in your abilities.

Form habits instead of the final goal: Yes, goal setting is a part of self-improvement, but the pressure of reaching the finish line may affect you negatively. Instead, push yourself a little every day to form new habits for new year. For instance, if you want to diet, start by adding one small, healthy item each day. Slowly form a new year habit that is a part of your lifestyle, rather than going for a drastic change as soon as the party season is over.

Plan to fail: Most New Year’s resolutions fail cause you don’t plan for it. If you have started working on your intent well in advance, by the end of the month you might have learned about your distractions and flaws. Hence, create a plan for when you may lose track or for motivations and emergencies. Know that you will fail and get back up, so give yourself a grace period. You could buddy-up and have a friend or coach push you at specific times.

Have a no-pressure New Year: Work on your goals across the year, and let your New Year start without any pressure or mental residue to ‘getting somewhere’. While this would be great for those who have stress and anxiety, it also works well to motivate you across the year as you may look at any change in a positive manner.

Enter 2020 with a fresh mind and a few habits already under your belt, and give those intimidating resolutions a miss this year.

References:

Elizabeth Bangera

Armed with an MSc. in Food, Nutrition, and Dietetics, Elizabeth wears many hats and is skilled in everything from weight loss to diabetes and cardiac care management.