Setting Healthy New Year’s Goals: And how to reach them.
The new year rings in the notion of setting new goals, creating new habits, and beginning a transformation. Becoming a new person at the tick of the clock is a daunting task, but it really does not have to be that serious. In fact, putting pressure on yourself to change year-long or life-long habits overnight might be a potential set up for failure. However, that doesn’t mean that the New Year isn’t a great time for reflecting on your current situation and inviting in positive change. Whether you want to be more adventurous, get to the gym more, get great grades or kill it at work, here are a helpful few tips and tricks from the staff at Hope and Love on setting the tone for the new year.
Pat yourself on the back for the things that you have already accomplished.
Say to yourself “I’ve done well, but I’d like to do better.” Maybe you were a great friend to somebody last year, you improved in a single subject in school, or you got outside more. It is important to avoid getting into a cycle of reaching for more without stopping to reflect and appreciate where you are at right now. It doesn’t matter if your “good jobs” of last year were a product of a previous new year’s resolution. If you did something well, recognize it and cheer yourself on.
Set small, specific, and realistic goals.
Long-term, lofty goals are great for inspiration but don’t do much in the way of tangible, short-term improvement. It is crucial to set attainable goals in order to create and maintain momentum for those long-term goals. It is much easier to “keep on keeping on” when you are able to reach and celebrate little goals along the way. These can look like “drink an extra 50 fl oz of water a day,” or “smile at someone on the train today,” rather than something like “completely change my diet and exercise routine,” or “be positive all of the time.”
Set “Monday Resolutions.”
We’ve all probably been there. You set a new year’s resolution, screw it up, so you give it up completely and say “maybe next year.” Setting weekly goals gives you the opportunity to start fresh each week and achieve smaller goals along the way until next year.
Make sure you’re setting personalized resolutions.
Set goals that light your soul on fire, inspire you, and speak to who you truly are and want to be. Make sure you are purposed in your own way, not in a way that you feel you “should” be. If you’d rather do yoga or hike than hit the gym every day, do that. If you’d rather focus on mental health than physical health, do that! Be inspired for you, it’s your year!