Reinventing Yourself With Meaningful New Year’s Resolutions

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With Christmas comes New Year’s, a somewhat magical period of time thanks to the significance of starting a new year. It’s that time of the year where we make New Year’s resolutions, a tradition that has become relatively common to people that live in Western societies. It’s the idea that, with the new year, you should reinvent yourself by following new rules or chasing different passions. It could be something simple like cutting out a bad habit, or it could be something drastic such as going out more often to make new friends.

 

 

 

Why New Year’s Resolutions?

 

There are some basic principles behind New Year’s resolutions. It might seem rather pointless promising yourself something that you don’t follow up on, but there are a few reasons why you might be compelled to make a New Year’s resolution anyway, even if you know that it has a low chance of success.

 

For starters, New Year’s resolutions are a way to get things done. It’s not much different from setting yourself a task like “I want to pass this exam” or “I want to get through a day of work”, only you’re attaching the significance of the New Year onto it. Having a goal means that you have something clear to work towards. If you don’t have goals in life, then you’ll find it difficult to achieve new things or learn. By providing yourself with a clear vision of what you want to achieve in the new year, you drastically increase your chances of success.

 

Having a goal also feels great when you do finally achieve it. You get the satisfaction of making progress in your life and sticking to your goals which feels fantastic. You also get to track your goals so in the future, you can look back to see just how far you’ve come. In short, New Year’s resolutions are a fantastic way to help you keep your life on track and also give you inspiration and motivation to do new things. Through constant self-improvement, we can completely transform our lives so that we become better people with more defined goals and skills.

 

So to help you out, here are a couple of ways to reinvent yourself by using New Year’s resolutions, and also a few tips on how you can stick to those resolutions.

 

Related: Try This For Your New Year’s Resolution

 

 

Are you being honest with yourself?

 

The very first question to ask yourself is if you’re being honest with yourself. Many of us set unrealistic goals such as “get rich next year” without actually knowing what it implies and what it takes to become rich. In addition, you might say something like “I want to quit smoking” which is an admirable New Year’s resolution, but are you being honest with yourself with that resolution? Do you actually want to stop smoking, or are you just saying it to make your friends and family respect your decisions?

 

If you’re not being honest with yourself then your New Year’s resolution is meaningless. Pick something that you can actually connect with. Don’t choose something that doesn’t truly represent how you feel or what you want from your life. Don’t let peer pressure affect your decisions either. It’s common for friends and family to affect what we pick for our New Year’s resolution, so just make sure that their opinions don’t completely sway your choice. Pick your own New Year’s resolution and make it something that is relevant to you.

 

 

Related: Start Right: Why New Year’s Resolutions Won’t Help You

 

Set smaller goals and aim to reach them

 

A New Year’s resolution could be something simple such as “I want to lose weight” but it comes with a whole host of smaller goals that you need to reach in order to actually lose weight. For instance, you could set a goal of losing a certain amount of weight each month, you could start slow with incremental goals such as using a bike for 5 minutes, then 10, then 20 and so on. This will help you create milestones that you can rely on to track your progress. You’ll be surprised at how effective this method of setting goals is when it comes to sticking to your New Year’s resolution.

There are plenty of ways to track and follow your goals. For instance, you could write them down on a piece of paper or a note that you stick on your walls. This can be effective if you have fridge magnets or something similar so you can pin the note someplace that you always see. You can then cross off any goals that you’ve reached and keep a small diary of your progress so you have something to motivate yourself.

 

Realising the truth of New Year’s day

 

While New Year’s day can seem like a special time because it marks the start of a new year, it’s important to remember that New Year’s day is just another day on the calendar and aside from start the entire year from the beginning, it’s just another day. It’s just a convenient time to set new goals because it marks the start of another day, but unless you change your attitude and your approach to your New Year’s resolution, it’s not going to make a difference.

 

In other words, you need to be realistic when it comes to your New Year’s resolution. Setting yourself a new long-term goal can be done on any day of the week and doesn’t necessarily need to be done on New Year’s, so don’t expect miracles or magic o happen, you still need to put in a lot of your own effort.

 

 

 

Related: 3 Things to Do As You Begin The New Year

 

Don’t be afraid to ask or seek help

 

Although your New Year’s resolution might be a personal journey, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone in the world. If your New Year’s resolution can be assisted by others that are close to you, then there’s no harm in asking for a bit of help. For example, if your New Year’s resolution was to burn excess weight, then any friends that have been on the same weight loss journey (or are currently in the middle of it)  will become a great help. You can ask them questions, share meal plans and even work out together.

 

You could also call on services and businesses. For instance, if you’re looking to finally brighten your smile, then you may want to speak to a qualified orthodontist to find out what can and can’t be done in your situation. Brightening your smile could be part of a New Year’s resolution to completely overhaul your appearance and reinvent yourself, so don’t just look for information on the internet→speak with experienced people that are more than willing to give you a hand.

 

One thing at a time

 

Have multiple New Year’s resolutions? That’s absolutely fine, but you’re putting way too much stress on yourself if you decide to tackle them all at once. Stick to breaking down your New Year’s resolution into bite-sized goals that you can easily digest. If you try to take on too many things, then you’re putting on a lot of pressure on yourself.

 

There are a few times where your New Year’s resolutions could align themselves. For instance, losing weight and cutting down on sweets go hand-in-hand, and reducing your alcohol intake and stopping smoking can both contribute to improving your health. In short, it’s important to take on manageable tasks instead of forcing yourself to take on two or more New Year’s resolutions at the same time. Once you’ve managed to master one New Year’s resolution, you can move on to the next. Just remember that there’s no time limit and you’re free to take your resolutions at whatever pace you want.

 

Related: Goals and How to keep Motivated

 

Get it done

 

Lastly, just get it done. Prioritize your New Year’s resolutions and give yourself the motivation and mental strength needed to carry it out. Go to bed earlier and set your alarms to wake up early as well so you can get your life on track. Stop procrastinating every day and focus your efforts. As long as you’re willing to make a difference in your life, you can reinvent yourself with your New year’s resolutions.

 

Most people fail to stick to their New Year’s resolutions because they stray off their path for too long. As long as the resolution you set was realistic enough and you didn’t overwhelm yourself with several different ones, it’s entirely possible to stick to your New Year’s resolutions long enough so that it makes a profound change on your life.

 

By following these tips, you should find it much easier to stick with your New Year’s resolutions. It doesn’t take as much effort as you think to reinvent yourself. As long as you’re willing to find a source of motivation and stick with your goals, you’ll find that you can completely change your life for the better.