Making a new year resolution seems so daunting and scary. A whole year seems so long.
Why not start a new one and say ok new month new beginnings.
A month seems more manageable and one that can be tweaked or changed if needed.
At the end of the year it is natural to go through the emotions of wow the year is coming to an end and will never happen again. Some people feel grief or loss of time. What did I achieve this year? Did I reach any of my goals? Has my life improved at all?
The loss of momentum or even motivation is very common.
You hear non stop about the new year and new beginnings and all the possibilities of the upcoming year. It is no wonder that your mind races thinking about all the possibilities. A whole year to do something. 365 days of opportunities and 2024 has of course that extra day.
How it usually goes with New Year resolutions
Inspiration starts at this time of year and motivation exists in the first few days of January and maybe even to mid January. Very few make it to February.
The dreaming phase of resolutions feels like biting off more than you can chew. Running before you have learned how to walk. Hoping to reach the end goal within a time frame that is impossible.
The movies make it seem easy.
There is no point in spewing out statistics and polls. Who knows who was asked or who paid for the research. We know ourselves, we have all made these kinds of resolutions and realised quickly the fact that there is no chance of doing it. Life has a way of happening.
Or we just focus on the end and not on the work needed to build the habit or the new routine. Did we even want to go down this road or were we sucked into it because others were doing it.
We have also experienced it from family and friends as they state what they want to achieve and the goals they set and how easy it can fail.
Who cares about statistics and percentages. What do they mean anyway? Personal experiences make more sense.
How to keep the motivation going
So what can you do to help maintain that motivation you need to build that habit and fulfil your resolutions?
Why should the whole pressure be for January 1st? That seems too much for anyone to manage.
January is usually a harder month financially as the expense for Christmas becomes a reality. The panic and stress of how to rebuild the finances or not to overspend this month.
Maybe you have looked at your credit card bill and had to sit down as it dawns on you how much you actually spent.
The bills continue to come in even though the finances are low.
Don’t stress yourself at the start of the year.
One simply goal for January
Don’t start the month feeling down and in despair. Be kind to yourself in January. Why not make that the goal of the month.
Yes, money was spent for Christmas and hopefully you managed to have some time with family and friends and that money you spent was invested in collecting moments with the important people in your life. Those memories will last and can be remembered for longer.
Now the focus is to manage the money you have for January.
- Don’t over spend.
Cut back on buying coffees and lunches or eating out.
Put a pause on the spending and focus on yourself and your own health.
Did you overeat over the holidays or not manage a healthy diet? Who didn’t eat the extra cookies, cake or pudding.
Now is the time to think maybe I can get out every day and go for a walk and get some fresh air. It doesn’t cost anything. Meet a friend and go for a walk. Go for a one on one walk with one of your kids and spend some quality time with them. Find out how they are doing. Take each of your kids on different days or walks. Things don’t have to cost anything and the simple thing of spending quality time with family, friends or pets can be a boost to your own health and relationships. Don’t take any devices with you. Switch off from them all and focus on the person you are with.
Or if you need the quiet alone time in the woods go for the me time walks.
Something simple like this is just one idea of setting a goal or making a resolution that is new and easy to achieve.
Soak in the positive feelings you experience as you notice a more relaxing atmosphere in your home.
Monthly resolutions
Spend the month of January living in the moment. Learning about yourself and thinking about what goals you really want to make for the year. Use the time away from social media or negative news feeds and think about what you want to do with your own life.
Breaking down a goal makes it more achievable.
If you want to be healthier. Ok, you have already started by going on daily walks and not buying coffee or lunches everyday.
Was it difficult? Or only at the beginning but it became something you looked forward to.
What could be the next step?
Getting more creative with making your own lunches.
Working from home and not grabbing snacks all day, how about prepping your meals and having only healthy snacks available.
Small steps are important
If you want to run a marathon then how fit are you? Building up strength and fitness levels is the best way to go.
When is the marathon and how many months do you have to prepare? There are plans for that which show you how to plan out your training with step by step guides to follow to build up your stamina over time.
Don’t forget baby steps are important. Every expert was once a beginner and only with practice and time were they able to achieve that level.
Plan in the learning stage of the new hobby. Let it become part of the journey and enjoy the whole process.
Don’t worry about having failed at something last year. That is ok. The best thing is you can learn from the mistakes made and plan for success. Maybe that goal was not something you actually wanted to do and you subconsciously self sabotaged it. A way of your mind telling you no this is not for me.
Learn from the mistakes and pivot.
Why new year resolutions usually fail
This is a journey you are making and every journey takes time. You also need to live your life while on your journey so enjoying things is part of that.
Maybe a new resolution each month…
So when one month comes to an end you can review how it went and if you failed then why and what can you do to change that for the new month.
A journal could be a good idea to keep track of your steps and the process of the steps you are making.
This is all about you and improving your life. There is no perfect plan.
We all know how many times we have to adapt to things in our everyday life and being able to change accordingly may be difficult at times but necessary.
Some people need the support from others to do anything. If that is you then choose the person or people who would support and encourage you along the way.
If you would rather do it alone and feel you don’t want to involve anyone then that is fine.
Do it the way that suits you and what you need.
You are you and know yourself best so do what works best for yourself.
Simplify your new year resolutions
Don’t set yourself up to fail before the New Year has even started. Set yourself some basic and simple goals and resolutions which are easy to achieve to boost your confidence and inspire you to aim for other goals.
Try a monthly goal or a monthly review of how you are doing? Assess your own progress and if this goal is working for you or not. If it is not then should you adapt it slightly or change your process.
Don’t be afraid to stop it if you notice you can’t achieve it or it will not be possible. If you want to run in a marathon and due to health reasons you cannot train properly for it then can you achieve a half marathon or a 5k?
There is nothing stopping you from changing the goal itself. If you got a job offer in another city or country and it is something that you always wanted and was not on your list, then this is an exciting moment. A huge new goal to aim for. Moving to a new city or country takes planning but the opportunities could be amazing.
No matter what plans or goals you have made or set for yourself, never forget life is what happens to you everyday.
The goals have to fit in with your life or you have to adapt your life around it.
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” – John Lennon
“No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again.” – Buddha
“Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach
