Is 2018 going to be your year? Maybe, maybe not, it’s all a matter of whether you make it that way. People go into a new year with all sorts of ambitions that they fail to meet. Is it because they’re not good enough? Not necessarily. Resolutions can fall short because we don’t prepare properly or exercise the willpower to see them through. You can make 2018 great for you, however. Here are five ways how.
- Make Changes Now
If you have goals for 2018, that’s wonderful. However, you shouldn’t be biding your time until January 1st, you should be making them happen now. Part of making positive changes comes from taking initiative. Should you be making these declarations on the condition that you get to wait for them, you’re showing you’re not really committed. Instead, you’re making the idea of progress out to be your achievement. This might give you some momentary pleasure, but it won’t last.
Whatever it is you want to do for yourself in 2018, start now. Want to read more? Go pick up a book and read for twenty minutes. Want to eat better? Cook a healthy recipe for dinner tonight. These won’t make things better immediately, but they’ll set you on the right path and make it easier to stick to when the new year starts.
- Make Your Goals Specific
People find themselves faltering with New Year’s resolutions because they set out to do things that are rather unspecific. They’ll make their goals to diet and exercise, single word resolutions. Is it any wonder they can’t keep it up past January? If your goals are vague, you’re not going to make any strides.
Why are we so unspecific? It’s likely because realistic goals seem less impressive. Going on a diet seems more glamorous than losing ten pounds. However, the second one gives you something demonstrable. It’s up to you to live up to it and to not go too far (i.e., losing fifty pounds in three months). However, you can feel prouder of yourself for making a concrete goal and reaching it.
- Undo Bad Habits
With every induction of a good habit tends to come the expulsion of a bad habit. If you are resolving to run a half-marathon, then you know that you can’t continue to smoke cigarettes. Quitting unhealthy habits is very difficult, but it’s absolutely necessary. You’ll be glad you traded in the beer for Casein protein powder.
There are things that we don’t realize are bad habits but are harming our minds and bodies. Things like mindless internet surfing and obsessing over people who rejected us can be undone. You just have to be conscious of what you’re doing and resolve to keep your mind focused. With healthier habits, you can keep your brain on something else besides these unhealthy habits.
- Keep Track of Your Progress
Give yourself some homework for the new year (even if you’re out of school). Whatever your goals are, find a way to track. Is yours about losing weight? Log how much you’ve lost on a weekly basis? Reading? Log how many books you’ve been reading. Quitting smoking? Use apps that track how long it’s been since a cigarette.
Some goals are less tangible but can still be tracked. For instance, if you’re looking to manage your anger, you can log how long it’s been since you’ve lost your temper. Keeping a journal of your thoughts is another way to keep yourself on track.
- Don’t Be a Perfectionist
We set our sights high in anticipation of a new year, because we believe the sky’s the limit. However, when we fall short, we think it’s time to just give in. If we couldn’t reach impossible heights, we might as well give up, right? Wrong.
Imagine if you made a goal to become a billionaire in two weeks. If that didn’t happen, would you just bankrupt yourself? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. It would also be ridiculous to abscond from a resolution because it didn’t quite go your way. There’s so much potential inside you, and you have to be willing to be patient.
