Making New Year’s resolutions is easy. Anyone can do that, but it is the keeping part that proves difficult. Most people will go for a few days before they start to lose interest in their goals or just find them too hard to keep up with. We have all been there. Some of you are there right now. Here are some helpful tips to make sure that you keep yours.

Define Your Goals

If you make vague promises to yourself and others, you are less likely to keep those than if you make specific, detailed promises. New Year’s resolutions should be exact and precise rather than vague. Otherwise, you won’t really know whether you’re keeping them or not.

For example, if you resolve to work out a few times a week, that does not define how many times you need to go to the gym. However, if you set a specific number of days, you will definitely realize when you’re not meeting your goals.

Poorly defined goals means that it’s easy to slip and get further away from where you want it to be. Make sure that each of your resolutions is exact and covers all the factors that it needs to.

Don’t Allow Too Many Cheat Days

Most people who have started a diet have failed because of their cheat days. They may give themselves one cheat day a month, and then that multiplies to a cheat day every week. The more cheat days you start to give yourself, the quicker you are to fall off your diet.

Our recommendation is to set a specific number of cheat days that you are allowed to have. That way, it’s not a vague reward but a definite allowance. This helps to keep you on track and tells you exactly when you’re going off track.

You should keep your cheat days to a minimum so that you are not tempted to cheat more often. If you can limit yourself to one or two cheat days a month, you are more likely to stick to your diet until you reach your goals compared to if you give yourself a cheat day each week.

Share Your Resolutions

Another way to help yourself stay on track is to tell other people what your New Year’s resolutions are. If you’re the only one who knows them, then you’re the only one who will realize when you are falling away from your goals. If you tell a close friend, though, then they can see when you’re getting off track and help to guide you back. That simple matter of accountability will go a long way toward making sure that you achieve your goals.

This is the same method that addicts will use to help get free of drugs or video games or whatever else that they are addicted to. By having an accountability partner, they have someone in their life who is looking in on them and making sure that they stick to the program. If you do that with your diet for other New Year’s resolutions, you’re more likely to accomplish what you set out to do.

Ask for Help Occasionally

New Year’s goals are personal, but that does not mean that you’re not permitted to get a little help with them. For instance, if you plan to finish a book you are writing by the end of the year, then you may need to ask an editor for assistance or call on a friend to read it for you. You could get input from other sources that could help you complete the book on time.

If you want to make time for going to the gym, you may need some help with getting house chores done. You may not have time each week to do both of these activities, so calling for a Jacksonville Imagine professional can help you keep a tidy house and stay on top of the housework while you also get in your gym time.

Once you realize that you are starting to struggle, it’s a good idea to look for some help. See which areas of your life you could use assistance in so that you can keep up with the goals you’ve set in other areas of your life. You can also get help with the specific goals you’re working on. For instance, if you’re trying to eat healthier, you could ask someone else to go to the grocery for you and give them a list so that you avoid buying foods you know you should not purchase.

Set Reasonable Goals

It is easy to make our New Year’s resolutions much bigger and bolder than they should be. Many of us want to dream big and accomplish incredible things, but sometimes we aim a little too high and shoot beyond our means. If you realize that this is happening to you, you may need to redefine some of your New Year’s resolutions and set ones that are a little more manageable.

If you are partway through the year and you realize that you’re not getting close to achieving your goal and that you set your goals a little too high, it is okay to redefine them. Just be clear on what the new goal is and make sure that there’s nothing vague about it. It may be too late to start from scratch on some of your goals, but you could certainly adjust them to make them more reasonable.

Instead of Quitting, Take a Five

If you set some tough goals this year and you’re struggling to keep up with them, you may be tempted to give up completely. Don’t do that yet, though. Instead, give yourself an opportunity to take a break from your goals. Maybe you can take a week off from aiming towards those goals and then reassess and see if you still want to do them.

We hope this list is helpful so that you can accomplish what you set out to do. We believe in you and your ability to achieve your goals.

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