How to Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick  

For many of us, New Year’s resolutions incite mixed feelings of excitement and dread. The clean slate of a full year ahead offers possibilities for growth, adventure, and achievement, but it also holds a lot of opportunities to fail at the exact things we’re excited about. Only eight percent of people follow through on New Year’s resolutions, often because they’ve lost motivation or they think one slip-up means they have already failed and have little chance to succeed. Part of the reason we get so easily discouraged is that many of us see the new year as a time to reinvent ourselves completely. While it’s exciting to imagine that this is the year we’ll finally get fit, become wealthy, be more productive, and find lasting happiness all at once, when we set goals that are too broad or we set too many goals in an attempt to become new people, we set ourselves up for failure from the start.

In order to make New Year’s resolutions successful, it’s important to revisit how you think about goal-setting in the first place. Rather than setting broad, sweeping goals that change everything about your life, focus on one or two areas that you think need the most work, and don’t throw in the towel the first time you face a challenge. If you begin to see your resolutions as a series of steps toward personal growth rather than an all-or-nothing leap, you’ll see more concrete success, and your failures won’t be devastating. Here are a few tips for setting more meaningful goals and sticking to them.

Choose Your Word

Sometimes the pressure to begin anew leads us to choose resolutions that are quantifiable but not fulfilling (lose ten pounds, save $1,000, do one hundred jumping jacks a day). The goals themselves may be beneficial, but if they don’t mean something to us, our motivation fizzles. If your resolutions in years past have flopped because they didn’t actually mean something to you, try choosing a word or a phrase that represents a large-scale change you want to make in your life. You might feel the need for connection to your friends and family members, or you may need grit to face the challenging but worthwhile year ahead. With a more mentally fulfilling goal at the helm, small victories will be more impactful, and you’ll be less likely to give up at the first sign of difficulty.

Stay SMART 

Keep in mind that even big-picture resolutions need to be supported by smaller goals in order for them to become realities. As you’re writing out your intentions for the year (and you should write them), bullet the specific things you intend to do under each big picture goal, and make sure that you have a way to track your progress. Researchers have long extolled the value of setting S.M.A.R.T goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) because they make it easier to determine what’s been done within a set amount of time. If your goal is to save money, for example, but you don’t have a specific number you want to reach or a date to save it by, your weekly savings won’t appear to amount to much, and you’ll become discouraged.

Share With Others 

As much as we all like to add, “Self-Starter” to our resumes, and as much as that might be true, there’s no getting around the fact that accountability breeds productivity. If you have a goal in mind, whether big or small, enlist a friend, mentor, or family member you trust and respect to check in on you. Whether it’s a text on the date of a deadline you set for yourself or a monthly meeting to discuss your progress, the presence of another person in your life can compel you to act and make the best of the time he or she is investing in you. As an added bonus, when you do accomplish your goals, someone who has walked with you through the journey is there to celebrate.

Chase a Passion 

Sometimes the goal we really need for a year is the one we haven’t, thus far, allowed ourselves to pursue. Maybe you long to take a couple of months off to volunteer for a cause, but think it’s irresponsible. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to play the accordion but could never pinpoint a practical reason to do it. Whatever you’re drawn to by instinct, make this the year that you dive in and do it, no matter what your inhibitions tell you. Will you need to plan to save money to take your time off or pay for your lessons? Yes, but if you’re still working towards your goal, it’s worth it. 

Keep Doing What You Do Well 

As you’re taking a look at the areas of your life that need improvement, be sure to acknowledge what you’ve done well in the past year. One of the disadvantages of approaching each new year as a clean slate to become an new person is that we discount the best parts of ourselves and the work we’ve already done to be better, stronger, more fulfilled people. In reality, we’re the same people every year, and we have a lot of reasons to be proud of that.

For each resolution you make to improve an area that’s lacking in your life, choose another area that’s strong and vow to continue or emphasize it in the coming year. If you’re impeccably organized, look for ways that you can help others get their work and home lives in order. If you did a great job saving money last year, make plans to invest it, begin working for yourself, or go on the trip you’ve been waiting for. If you’re strong, keep up your workout routine and have confidence to take on new challenges. Self-improvement is a process of acknowledging weakness and celebrating strength, so don’t simply trudge through your resolutions. Enjoy them.