Did you make a New Year’s Resolution this year? Or maybe a few? Maybe you prefer to call them goals? Either way, many of us will have set ourselves something that we would like to achieve in 2022. It might be fitness related, it might be to spend more time with the kids, it might be to be more organised or even to find yourself a new job.
Whatever it is, you’ve made the first step in identifying something you’d like to change or achieve, but how do you keep the motivation and momentum going through January and beyond?
Here are our top tips to keep you going right through 2022……
A long list of resolutions or goals can feel overwhelming and leave you not knowing where to begin. Try to figure out what’s most important to you this year and set yourself just one or two goals. Keeping it simple will mean you are more likely to succeed in achieving your goal. It might be something that will have the biggest impact on your life, health or well being. The key is to be specific rather than vague. Think about the what and the how and you won’t go far wrong.
Although winning the lottery would be amazing, the likelihood of hitting the jackpot is very slim. But if your goal is to have more money, think about what a more realistic goal might be. It might be to save X amount of money by the end of the year. It might be to pay off a specific debt or it might be to find a job or a more well paid job.
Similarly, if you can’t commit to a big family day out every Saturday, then don’t. It might be more realistic to say you’ll give the kids 10 minutes of totally uninterrupted time each day. That might turn into 30 minutes, but you were realistic to begin with and set yourself something achievable within your current time constraints.
It is tempting to go all out with resolutions. But if you are realistic, you are far more likely to achieve your goal in the first place.
A year is a long time! But it can feel like a lifetime, or no time at all when you’ve set yourself a challenge. It can be really helpful to break the year down into more manageable ‘bitesize’ pieces. Do what works for you, whether that’s setting yourself a series of smaller monthly goals that will help you on your way to your overall goal or 3 month chunks. It can be a good idea to write it down or pop it in your calendar to check in and see how you’re getting on.
Incentives aren’t just for kids! You are more likely to succeed if you treat yourself now and then. Maybe at regular intervals, or maybe when you reach some of those more bitesize milestones. And rewards don’t have to be expensive… a bit of a pamper session in your bathroom (without the kids!) might be just the thing to keep you on track and feel like you’ve had a treat or maybe it’s a treat meal if you’ve been working hard to change your eating habits. Whatever it is, schedule it in and give yourself something to aim for and look forward to.
Some goals are very personal and you might not want to share them, and that is absolutely fine. But there is definitely some mileage in letting your family and friends know what you are trying to achieve this year, not least so that they can support you, spur you on and check in with you on how you’re getting on. Sometimes, just the very fact that you’ve shared your goal or resolution is enough to keep you going.
We will all have bad days. We’re only human after all. But no matter how badly off track you might have gone, you can always get back on!
I think Nelson Mandela puts it perfectly…..
‘Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.’ – Nelson Mandela
Good Luck with whatever you hope to achieve this year, and you can always post in the Chat Group if you need any further advice, words of wisdom or encouragement. They’re a friendly and knowledgeable bunch in there!
