How To Stick To New Year's Resolutions

We’ve all got the greatest of intentions going in to the New Year: to sleep more, exercise regularly, lose weight, eat better, drink more water, write a novel…

Whatever your resolution, sometimes it can be hard to stick to. Here are some techniques you can put in place to make sure you achieve your goals in 2015.

Write Everything Down

Write down your resolution. Write down your plan of action. Tick off each success as it comes and track your progress. It’s great to have a physical point of reference and a plan. Scribbling off each goal as you go along is also quite satisfying.

Kit Yourself Out

If you’re going to start running, wear comfortable and breathable clothing. Make sure your shoes fit correctly before starting with any exercise. If you want to improve your performance get a GPS watch, or an app like Strava, to track your progress.

Make Your Resolutions Realistic

Avoid unachievable goals. Don’t say you want to work out every day and lose 2 stone in a month. These sorts of goals can be hard to attain. A lot of people don’t get past the first week of their New Year’s resolutions. To make sure you do, break down what you want to achieve into manageable chunks.

Drag Someone Along With You

You’re going to need some motivation if you want to succeed. A study by the Dominican University of California found that those who shared their resolutions with a friend were 33% more successful than those who didn’t. You can support each other and push each other along. It makes it more fun as well.

Don’t Limit Yourself

If you achieve what you want there’s no need to just stop there. With that achievement should come a sense of pride that can motivate you further. Particularly in the field of health and fitness; it’s a lot better to sustain a healthy lifestyle than to constantly stop and start.

Reward Yourself

This one’s important. Every time you reach a goal you should celebrate your success. Your sense of achievement encourages you to keep going. Recognising and rewarding success also improves performance.

Good luck in achieving your goals for the year. Keep these handy tips in mind and let us know how you get on.

Photo Credit: chatelaine.com