New Year, New Beginnings

January 1st, the start of the new year; a time for new beginnings and resolutions of all degrees. It’s the time of year where your social media feed explodes with promises of “New Year, new me!” only to be soon abandoned, and eventually forgotten. I have definitely put myself in the position of giving up many times, over many years, but last year I finally broke the chain. I believe that the most common reason people ‘give up’ their resolutions is because they want to make a major change and therefore make huge unattainable goals that will inevitably overwhelm them. It’s so incredibly easy to give up as soon as we get overwhelmed or fall behind, but we need to remember that all change takes time; and yes the first spark is the most important part, but consistency is key.  Here’s a few tips that helped me keep all of my resolutions last year, and hopefully they can help you too!

Making Smaller Goals

This seems pretty obvious, but it genuinely helps. Now, this isn't a plea to undersell yourself on your goals, just an attempt to make them more attainable. Instead of making a resolution to cook every meal, perhaps make a goal to cook more meals. This was my goal this past year (2019) and by June I was cooking nearly every single meal, but if it was a hectic week I didn’t feel guilty ordering in for the family. 

Don’t Restrict to a Specific Time Frame

Now specific time frames may work for some people, but I am definitely not one. As soon as I miss my first deadline, I give up on the rest of them because my thought is “Well, now what’s the point?” I find that I’ve had an easier time keeping my goals if I don’t over-restrict myself for a specific time frame. I typically make a list of little goals I want to accomplish each month, but last year I just made the list of goals and I managed to check off every single one, without even fully realizing it. This tip works the best for weight-loss/health-related goals!

Keep Reminders of Your Goals

Each New Year, I have a tradition of making a ‘Resolution Board’, which I keep up throughout the month of January, and then I remove my goal cards to keep them close. However this year I will be making a digital Resolution Board, because my toddler is going through a “destruction phase”. Keeping up reminders, whether physical or digital, will help you keep your goals in the forefront of your mind. It’s easier to keep up with something that you see everyday, and after a few months you won’t even notice that you’re doing them.

Strive for Improvements, Not a Complete 180°

Now this one is pretty similar to the “Smaller Goals” tip, but I can’t stress this enough. It is so much easier to keep a goal to do more (or less!) of something, than to do it all of the time. The whole point of a New Year Resolution is to better yourself, which is something we all can do. Change is something you have to work for, and you have to constantly make the choice to keep changing, or you’ll fall back into your old habits. 

Hopefully a few of these tips spoke to you, and you can implement them as you join in with the magic of motivation that the New Year brings. Wishing you love, luck, and motivation in the New Year; with love-

-Mama Bee