7 ways to keep your New Year’s resolution

No.

You are not going to break your New Years resolution this time, okay? We here from Starts at Sixty will not allow you to do it again. Whether you want to trim down, get creative, or fit more family time into your life, there are a number of little things you can do in order to give yourself a head start on that resolution you’ve been wanting to keep.

1. Plan ahead

Odds are that if you make your new years resolution on New Year’s Eve, you probably aren’t going to be too emotionally attached to the idea. You should plan ahead and think carefully about what it is you want to do, and think about how it will impact upon your life. By reading this list, you’re already considering your resolution before the 31st, go you!

2. Be realistic

Sounds obvious, but you really need to think about something that you can do that won’t drastically alter your life. For example, saying that you won’t eat chocolate all year is setting yourself up to fail. But breaking it down a bit, like eating chocolate only once a week, can be a more realistic target.

3. Make a ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ list

Get on your computer, or go old school and write a list, of the benefits and disadvantages of your proposed resolution. Get your family and friends to add to it if you can. This will form a stronger emotional attachment to your resolution if others are rooting for you to keep it, and will increase your chances of success. Also a pros and cons list is a good visual cue to see for yourself whether you should in fact do the resolution.

4. Talk about it

Similarly to the list, talk to your friends and family about your resolution in order to ensure success. Joke about it or argue about it, just be vocal about it.

5. Stick to it

Motivation is what gets you to change, but it’s habit that keeps you going. Experts say that it takes about three weeks for a new activity/action/process to become a habit. It then takes around six months for this new activity to become part of your personality. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Keep going, stay strong and fight that urge to give up. It only gets easier as time goes by.

6. Reward yourself

Rewarding oneself is an important aspect of keeping your resolution. This doesn’t mean to indulge your sweet tooth if your resolution is to give up candy. Rather, engage in an activity or something that is still fun for you, but is something you rarely get to do. You will feel better about yourself and it will motivate you to keep going with your resolution.

7. Keep trying

It’s mid March and you haven’t achieved your resolution. Don’t give up, and certainly don’t wait until next New Years to start trying again. Recommit yourself to the resolution for 24 hours. You can do almost anything for a 24 hour period. Start small and build momentum day by day.

Good luck with all your resolutions.

What’s your New Year’s resolution? Have you ever successfully kept a resolution? Let us know in the comments below.