How to Make (and Keep) Your New Year's Resolution in 2023

Happy New Year and welcome to 2023!

It’s hard to believe that another year has been and gone and it’s the start of yet another!

The start of the year is a popular time for people to think about their goals and resolutions for the year going forward. 

So, if you are planning on setting any resolutions this year we want to discuss how to start the year off right and put our best foot forward to achieve our resolutions and goals.

Before we even begin discussing New Year’s resolutions through it is important to note that we can’t always accomplish every resolution we set out to achieve. In-fact, 80% of people failing by the second week of Feb!

Setting extreme goals and feeling overwhelmed by the pressure we put on ourselves is one of the most common reasons why New Year’s resolutions fail.

As most of us know making resolutions is easy however keeping them is not always possible. But it is possible to stop this happening again this year! 

So how do we make a good New Year’s resolution?

Start with gratitude

Although resolutions are typically focused on what we want to achieve a great place to start is actually making note of what we have achieved in the last year and what we are grateful for. 

Before we set any new goals it can help to reflect on what we are grateful for this year. This puts us in a good headspace, prioritises what makes us happy and makes us realise what we are capable of. If we changed in the last year this is already a huge accomplishment.

Less is better

I’m sure we have all heard it, but it helps if we start with small achievable goals. While it may be tempting to write down all the things we want to change at the start of the year this can be overwhelming.

It helps if we limit our resolutions to just five to seven goals. For these few goals it is beneficial to be specific, realistic and think about what we need to do to accomplish them. It is also important to put an approximate time frame on our resolutions to stay focused.

Prioritise

Not all goals are created equal. This year we may be concentrating on nurturing close relationships or reaching financial goals. Whatever these are it is helpful to put our goals in order of importance and prioritise these goals first. 

Focusing on the goals that are important to us and that are the highest benefit or value to us will provide us with more reason and willingness to take action… this is know as motivation!

Write down your goals

Once we have a small list of realistic and achievable goals in order of importance, we should put them in a place that is easy to find so we have a reminder whenever we need to revise them. This could be on our phone or printed out and put somewhere accessible, maybe next to your coffee station so it’s top of mind every morning ;) 

It also helps to review our goals often, as life is unpredictable and sometimes revising and reprioritising our goals is necessary.

Get some support

Getting support is highly beneficial for achieving our goals. If we can share our goals with a friend or family member this can help in the long run with our connection becoming a motivation factor in us reaching our goals. 

Do not play a self-blame game

If we lose sight of our goals, we should try to reset and go forward. Setbacks are normal. Life is unpredictable sometimes and not everything is always in our hands. 

Research suggests even people who tend to succeed with their goals tend to experience one slip up. The key is having a cognitive and not emotional approach to our setbacks. Namely, finding out where we went wrong and trying to correct this. We can then refocus and think about the reward of achieving our goals. 

Over to you…

We hope these points helps you follow through with your resolutions and make this your best year yet! Don’t forget slip ups are normal and to be good to yourself as a general goal. 

Good luck with your New Year’s resolutions!