New Year is the perfect time to start thinking about self-improvement. All too often, people tend to make too many goals and then feel like failures when they inevitably fail. You’re not a failure! You might just be overestimating how much change you can achieve in a year.
Did you know it takes a minimum of 21 days to form a new habit? In reality, it could take you a lot longer, depending on your goal.
Are New Year’s resolutions worth doing?
New Year’s resolution is an opportunity for a fresh start and to build new routines. Even with the best intentions, busy schedules and low motivation can easily stop us from achieving our New Year’s resolutions. Follow our tips to help you choose the right New Year’s Resolutions for you and actually meet your goals.
1. Choose a specific goal
Be more concrete rather than ambiguous. For instance, it’s easy to start small goals like ‘I’m going to eat healthier’. If you are setting your goal more specific, for example, ‘I’m going to eat more vegetables and fruits’, then you have a better starting point.
Think about the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of your goal. A personal connection to your goal and constantly reminding yourself of why you’re doing it should motivate you to succeed. In simple words, keep your resolution very specific and achievable.
2. Limit your resolutions
Write down no more than 5 of your most important goals and pick your goals wisely. The reason you shouldn’t do too many is that you’re much more likely to stick to a few. Conserve your energy and efforts for those few and you’ll give yourself a better chance of completing them by the end of the year.
3. Write your goals down
Writing down your goals will help you to keep better track of your progress. We suggest keeping a diary to monitor your progress. Write them down on a big sheet of paper and stick it up somewhere so you can see them daily.
Make it visual
Mood boards are great ways to keep your goals in mind every day. You could stick these up at home or on your desk at work. If you are always on the go, a mood board on your phone might be a better option. There are apps available, such as Moldiv, which will allow you to create digital mood boards, so you can be inspired by them no matter where you are.
4. Make a detailed plan
Put time into action planning. Most people are so concerned with the end goal that they don’t take the time to properly plan how they will get there. If you plan out exactly how you’re going to achieve your goal, based on tasks you can complete daily, weekly and/or monthly, then you’ll be actively working towards your goal throughout the year.
For instance, if you tend to forget about goals or have a busy lifestyle, setting reminders on your phone and noting them down in your to-do lists/calendars can help you keep on top of things.
5. Small steps - 1 goal at a time
Don’t act on all your resolutions at the same time, take baby steps. If we focus all of our efforts into a single goal, we are much more likely to succeed. So, commit yourself to 1 goal for the first few months of the year, wait until you have created a solid, consistent routine with this goal, and then start the next goal.
6. Find a buddy
You’ll be more accountable if other people know about your New Year’s Resolutions. Tell your friends and family and give them regular updates about your progress.
7. Reward yourself
The reward system in our brains is a clever tool that we can use to our advantage. If you give yourself small rewards every time you make progress, these not only act as a way of congratulating yourself but also serve as motivation to keep going towards the next milestone.
8. Don’t give up
We’re only human; it’s all too easy to get distracted, lose motivation, get side-tracked by a huge life event, or even just to forget. Don’t give yourself a hard time if you don’t make the progress you want to; just try to get back to it when you can. It’s the trying those counts. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day!
Keeping your New Year’s resolutions isn’t easy. The amount of people whose resolutions fail every year is an evidence of that. Just because something is difficult, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing. Stick to our tips and you should have an easier time with your goals.
Remember that change is a process
Whether you’re trying to follow a healthy habit or want to include something new in your lifestyle, be patient, it takes time. Give your resolution some time to become a habit.
Why not include eyecare as one of your resolutions this year? Say ‘Eye Care’ first.
We at Feel Good Contacts would like to thank all our customers, new and existing, who visited our site throughout the year. We wish you all the best in 2024!