Make a New Year’s Resolution that Works
I know that “new year new me” has become something of an annual joke, but I have always loved making New Year’s resolutions. I’ve always been a goal-oriented person, and I love the push New Year’s gives me to challenge myself.
Given that 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February (https://www.businessinsider.com/new-years-resolutions-courses-2016-12), I have a fairly good track record. Because of this, I would like to try and pass on the secrets to my success this year.
So here I am going to go through my two resolutions: lose 5 pounds before my trip and to create zero-waste.
Do some self-reflection
A good way to be motivated to achieve your resolution is to make your goal something you’ve always wanted to do or have been thinking about doing for a long time.
Rather than picking out a fresh goal, use New Year’s as the catalyst to kick-start that new hobby you’ve been wanting to try or get back into your reading list.
Personally, I gained a lot of weight in second year. While first year was no problem for me, I found second year to be super stressful (a similar thing happened in high school), and because of this stress I ate terribly and stopped exercising. I have lost weight since then, but ideally, I would like to return to the weight I was when second year started.
If you follow my articles, you will also know that I am very much concerned with environmental issues. Last year I made the resolution to go zero-waste with my bathroom products, so this year I think it’s time to up the ante and go full zero-waste.
Get specific, keep it realistic
Vague goals are very difficult to meet. If you haven’t defined the goal, how do you define success? For example, when I was in high school, my resolution would be something like “do better in school”, but by the end of the school year, I never knew if I’d actually done that as I wasn’t tracking anything. Compare this to my resolution from 2017, which was to raise my cumulative GPA by 1%. Since I had a number to watch, I was able to see my success each semester, and ultimately reached my goal.
I chose to try and lose 5 pounds because although I would really like to lose 10, I believe that 5 is a more realistic number for the time I’m giving myself to do it as I’m leaving for Australia in February
As for committing to a zero-waste lifestyle, since I have been slowly transitioning on my own for over a year now, I believe that I have enough of a start to be able to make the switch.
Make a plan
When working on an essay it is a lot simpler to write if you have an outline. It’s the same with any goal. Before January 1st, make sure you know how you’re going to achieve your goal.
My weight loss plan as it stands involves cutting back on sugary drinks. This is a major source of empty calories. I also plan to run every other day, working out at home the days between my runs. Once exams are done, I will be putting together some recipes and a list of snack ideas so I don’t end up eating mac and cheese due to a lack of meal ideas on my part.
For zero-waste I will be watching my products, and once I am near running out of a product, I will begin researching a zero-waste replacement to get when the time comes.
Write it down
Keep a record of your resolution. I usually craft a sheet of paper with my resolution on it and put it on my cork board. Looking at my resolution every day is a good visual reminder. I also add inspirational quotes to help motivate myself. Be sure to track what you need to do in your planner, as well.
Since exercise is a part of my resolution I will be making sure to put it on my daily to-do lists; crossing it off every day is an easy way to feel like you’re taking steps forward, especially with slow moving goals like weight loss. Until you lose your first pound it feels like you’re doing nothing.
Hopefully these tips inspire you to use this new year to make a better you; Happy New Year!