It's that time of year again...
Lots of people make New Year's Resolutions, and it's so easy to jump on the bandwagon and follow the crowd! But how do we actually make those resolutions stick? The average person has trouble keeping up with these new goals and habits just for 21 days, so the willpower and discipline is nothing new.
Here are a few expert tips to help you stick with your goals for 2020 and stay focused and motivated:
1. Be Honest With Yourself
Set some goals that are realistic. If you need to lose 100 pounds, maybe set a 30 day goal to lose 10 pounds, and then a 90 day goal to lose 20 or 30 more pounds. Sometimes the bigger goal is just a lot to commit to right out of the gate.
2. Stick to One Thing
It's tempting to want to set a list of goals and new habits to jump into daily. But sometimes we have too many things, and we just can't focus on all of them at the same time. Pick one thing at a time, and stick with that. Multi-tasking is simply spreading us too thin. Start with one goal, such as limiting sugar or giving up your diet soda habit.
3. Chart Your Progress
If you don't record your results, it's almost impossible to stick with it. Track your good days (and your bad days.) Pay attention to triggers and things that make you want to give up so you can improve and make healthy changes.
4. Hold Yourself Accountable
Write down those goals and do a weekly or monthly check-in to make sure you are on track. Better yet, find an accountability partner and align yourself with them to ensure success. Ask them for a weekly coffee date if that helps, or join a Facebook group with motivational leaders and members.
5. Celebrate Success
It's important to celebrate your successes, even the smallest of victories! Reward yourself with a pedicure or massage if that helps. But at the same time, show yourself some compassion if you fall short of the goal or miss it altogether. We are so hard on ourselves, and certainly wouldn't be so hard on friends if they confided in us, so we need to show ourselves the same grace and compassion we easily dish out for others.
Making New Year's resolutions and goals should be a fun process! Try not to keep up with the hype of everyone else. If you love cheese, don't try to follow a trend by going 'no dairy.' Set realistic limits for yourself, and set yourself up for success. Set goals you know you can strive for daily, and what work for your lifestyle. And remember, it took a lot of years to get to where you are now, so it might take longer than a few months to achieve those lofty goals. But as always, take it one day at a time.
If we can assist you or your family with your needs for companion care, senior care or in-home care for a loved one, please reach out to us today. Our Kind Companions are ready to help.