How to Make and Keep New Year Resolutions

The year 2021 has come to its end. And many of us sum up what was achieved during the current year and set new goals or make new year resolutions for the following year. In this post, I'll share my resolutions, how I make them and how I stick to them so that they all come true. Let's get started!

First, let me talk about the optimal way to set goals and make resolutions, and then – how to stick to them.

 

WAIT! If you’re more of a visual learner, check out my YouTube video where I detail everything in this post.

 

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How to set goals and make resolutions the optimal way

To start with, I stopped doing it randomly a couple of years ago. Instead, I now think of the spheres of my life and set 1 or 2 goals for each sphere or sub-sphere.

For the next year, I choose the following spheres:

• Health
• Sports
• Beauty
• Hobby
• Transcendence (or harmony with myself)

As for the other spheres (e.g., family & friends, business, finances, etc.), I've decided to stick to what I already do. Ok, so I pointed out 5 spheres. And now, I set 1 or 2 goals I want to achieve (or I wish to excel at) in each sphere:

• Health - stick to fasting, make a habit of taking supplements
• Sports - excel at yoga (probably pass a 200 RYT exam)
• Beauty - stick to my morning/evening routine daily, grow my hair to mid-length
• Hobby - paint regularly, read a book a month
• Transcendence - meditate & do reiki daily

And now, let's move to the second part, which is:

How to stick to your goals and resolutions

1. Keep it realistic. Pick only 1 or 2 goals or resolutions per sphere. Your goals should be realistic, and if you have like 100 resolutions, you eventually will fail to keep all of them.

2. Track your progress. Track even the slightest improvement. This is inspiring; this won't let you down and make you more dedicated.

3. Use the everyday aesthetics principle. Meaning, when setting a goal or making a resolution, make sure your soul and mind agree on the goal itself and the means of achieving it.

In other words, think of what you want to achieve, not of things you want to get rid of. Compare these: "I want to lose weight." vs. "I want to be slimmer." The second sentence sounds more appealing, doesn't it?

4. Add, not deprive. One of the most important parts is the means of achieving your goals and resolutions should add something to your life, rather than extract (or deprive).

For example, if you want to look slimmer, you probably want to make it sound as "I will add morning yoga to my routine." or "I will add more veggies to my dinner plate." rather than "I will stop spending so much time on my couch watching TV." or "I will cut sugar."

5. Enjoy your journey. And the final tip, don't forget, it's all about the journey, not the destination. Enjoy it!