With the new year being just a few days old, it is not too late to think about how you would like the upcoming months to unfold. While many people begin contemplating and composing their list of New Year’s resolutions in early November, others believe them to be ineffective and pointless because of their high failure rate. While pursuing meaningful goals or making significant changes in one’s life is certainly difficult and, at times, uncomfortable, it is also one of the key ingredients for personal well-being and fulfillment. It is indeed a healthful habit to continue to think of ways you can grow as an individual and change your life for the better.
However, in order for resolutions to be actually successful, it is important to create goals that are meaningful, realistic, and attainable. The key is to think about the why, that is, why do you want to make the change in the first place. An article published on Forbes, “Done with New Year Resolutions? Seven Steps to Stay Motivated for The Long Haul”, explains “for a resolution to stick, it must be aligned with your core values and hold deep personal meaning that you connect with on a deep emotional level”. In other words, your resolution must be something that you strongly care about, otherwise, you’ll likely give up the moment things seem too challenging or uneasy.
Moreover, while it may be tempting to overhaul your entire life or run that 10K this year, keeping your goals small and simple will significantly improve your chances of fulfilling them. The American Psychological Association recommends starting with changing one thing at a time and easing into making the change with small, concrete steps. In case you are wondering what such goals may look like or looking for some inspiration for creating your own resolutions for this year, we’ve provided some examples below that may spark some ideas.
Relationship goals
- if you are looking for love this year, you can start with writing a list of attributes and other must-haves that you are looking for in a partner and/or the relationship
- schedule one date-night with your partner every week
Health goals
- schedule a 5-10 minutes long mindfulness session every day
- eat a more plant-based diet at least 3 times a week
Career goals
- take a professional development course
- speak to your manager about taking on one new responsibility and/or leadership opportunity at work
Sources:
“Making Your New Year’s Resolution Stick”. Retrieved from www.apa.org
Warrell, M. (2018). Done With New Year Resolutions? Seven Steps To Stay Motivated For The Long Haul. Retrieved from www.forbes.com