Sticking to New Year resolutions

Every New Year brings fresh opportunities, renewed motivation and the promise of positive change. Yet many resolutions are abandoned within weeks because they focus on restriction rather than inspiration. This article explores practical strategies to help you create meaningful goals, stay motivated and make lasting changes that truly enhance your life.

Here we go again, it's the beginning of a New Year, and we are all being asked the same question;

“So...what’s your New Year’s resolution?”

Most of the answers I have heard could have come from any year in the last decade and, as such, don’t feel very ‘New’ at all! Going to the gym, losing weight, stopping drinking, stopping smoking, the list goes on. Most resolutions, it has to be said, are about NOT doing things, rather than doing things. Making ourselves toe the line.

I have not heard many people say things like they are going to make use of the free museums more, they are going to read one classic novel a month, or they are simply resolute to have more fun!

There is nothing wrong with a New Year's resolution. There is no doubt that a new phase in the calendar can feel like a good time to enter a new phase in our lives. How do we manage to follow through on our resolutions, though? Below are a few well-kept secrets to help you get what you want from the year ahead

Create your own timetable

There is no rule set in stone that you must start your chosen routine on the 1st of January.

Sometimes the 1st can feel like a bit of a letdown. If you stayed in the night before, it will probably seem like just another ordinary day. If you went out to see in the new year, then it often feels far worse than an ordinary day!

Instead, choose a moment when you think you will be at your optimum. It could be the first Monday of the month or, if you are detoxing, maybe the first weekend, so you don’t feel sluggish at work.

A clear head with a good, solid plan will set you off on the right foot for success.

Research and prepare

Most resolutions fail because people haven’t actually had the time or space to figure out what they need and how to achieve what they want.

If you are giving up smoking, for example, spend a few days looking at your options and choosing the best path for you. It's far better than going cold turkey and finding yourself giving up the first time you go to the pub!

If you want to lose weight, research a way that sounds plausible for you, find the foods that are good to eat, yet you still really like and go and do a nice, healthy shop rather than being faced with a post-Christmas cupboard full of half-eaten boxes of chocolates and a couple of crusty mince pies!

Treat yourself gently, with care and preparation, and you will get what you want.

Put it in the positive

For most people, the moment they feel they shouldn’t do something, they feel almost compelled to go out and try to do it.

So if you were thinking about going on a diet, think instead about going on an energy-boosting, healthy eating regimen.

Rather than making yourself go to the gym, you could decide to give yourself space three times a week to have your own mind time whilst you exercise, feel good and treat yourself afterwards by relaxing in the steam room.

If you are more competitive, you could have a competition with a friend. If you like companionship, find someone to buddy up with for moral support.

Whatever you do, make it a positive choice, not a negative chore.

See the bigger picture

If you focus on the short-term pain rather than the long-term gain of your resolution, you are setting yourself up for one heck of a struggle.

Make your resolution part of a bigger goal.

Forget about making yourself go to an exercise class. Decide instead what the longer-term purpose of your resolution might be. You may have always wanted to go trekking through the rainforest, but never felt fit enough. Make that your goal. Read about it and plan your trip.

It will inspire you and take the focus off something you have previously not wanted to do, and shine a light on something you have always wanted to do.

Putting your resolution down as just part of a bigger plan will mean it becomes less of an effort and move you toward something truly rewarding.

Remember, it’s simply a contract with yourself

The only person you need to please by doing this is you.

Even if others might benefit from your choices, at the centre is a happier you. This will take away the urges of ‘being bad’ and not doing what you have chosen to do.

Ensure you do it your way. Make it pleasurable and reward yourself in a way that is appropriate to your goal.

Look at what you are going to get from succeeding and decide now how you will know you are on the way to getting what you want.

Keep flexible – the only rules are your rules, so if your original plan needs some modification, go ahead and make some changes.

This is your contract with you.

Go on, give yourself what you want!

Make this the year you follow through

Take a deep breath. Clear your mind. Think of the bigger picture.

Realistic and useful goals will get you the life you want.

If you need a booster, book a couple of sessions with a coach. Just because this is for you, it doesn’t mean you have to go it alone.

Make sure you make it the year where you give yourself what you actually want.

I suspect you probably deserve it!

Successful resolutions are not about willpower alone. They are about planning, preparation, positivity and purpose. When you connect your goals to something meaningful and create a realistic path forward, you dramatically increase your chances of making lasting changes that improve your life.