Keeping Your New Year’s Resolution for 2021
(© Pexels/Tairon Fernandez)
Is there anything to make you feel more aimless like the abandoned New Years Resolution? Whether the resolution was a lifestyle change or a simple promise (exercising daily, eating less sugar), we at the Modern Day Wife have just the right ways to help you avoid any potential regret.
1. Choose wisely.
Ideally, resolutions should add something positive to your life, even if you are sacrificing something. If you’re not used to making resolutions last, starting with smaller, more specific resolutions can help in maintaining an effective lifestyle change. Smaller resolutions with delayed dividends can include something like walking for exactly twenty minutes each morning when you awake, eating more vegetables, or practicing gratitude by listing five things you feel thankful for every day. Keeping a journal and updating at least once a week to confirm to yourself that yes, you’re going through the motions, will provide tangible feedback that you’re more than capable of following through on a promise to yourself.
(© The Five-Minute Journal)
2. Allow room for growth.
There’s a saying going around that says growth and success are not linear processes. Enforcing a change is a bit stressful for the mind, even if the change is for a better, happier life. Allowing for a decent amount of room to make mistakes is vital for maintaining your resolution. The Pareto Principle, otherwise known as the 80/20 rule, is super helpful at creating a new habit; if you can maintain the new resolution 80% of the time, then forgoing the resolution 20% of the time is adequate. It's such an effective practice that even Miranda Kerr has written about her experience with it.
3. Set up visual reminders.
Visual reminders, such as moodboards, marking calendars, or changing your phone’s lock screen helps your resolution maintain a front and center position. Creating alarms with the title of your resolution helps to keep you in the right mindset to keep up with your resolution. Journaling is also recommended.
4. Start early.
Starting your resolution around early December is great for building momentum. If you haven’t been able to do this, don’t worry. Remind yourself that it’s always better to start late rather than never starting.
No matter what your resolutions are, you’re making them most likely to improve your life, your mindset, your relationships, your health. The fact that you want to improve any facet of you life shows that you’re more than worthy of keeping that promise to yourself. We’re after progress, not perfection.
