When it comes to setting New Year’s resolutions, we all start out with good intentions. But more often than not, our goals don’t last the distance. How many of us have found ourselves starting a new year with gusto and enthusiasm; deciding that this will be the year we get fit, quit smoking or travel more? As the year goes on our commitment fades, until eventually we’ve resigned ourselves to starting again next year.
When it comes to truly your reaching goals, setting realistic New Year’s resolutions is key. We hear it all the time, but few of us actually do it. So with that in mind, here’s a list of 5 common goals for the New Year ― and some practical tips on how you can make 2016 the year to achieve them.
5 Tips on setting New Year's Resolutions that stick:
1. Eat well
Most of us have made (at some point or another) a New Year’s resolution to eat more healthily. Where many people trip up, however, is by prescribing themselves restrictive diets that no normal person can follow in an attempt to get there. At least not if you want to enjoy life and be social.
As a result of this all or nothing approach, many people quit the first time they slip up and break loose on the TimTams. But you know what? Accepting that you'll have bad days ― and getting straight back into your normal healthy eating pattern after you fall off the wagon ― is still going to serve your body better than if you give up entirely. So brush it off; tomorrow is a new day.
2. Spend more time with family
If you’re a workaholic who struggles to see their family, and you're setting New Year's resolutions to spend more time with your family, use your meeting-driven mindset to schedule in time. Put it in your diary or block out that time as ‘do not disturb’ in your Google calendar. Sadly, we see so many people come to us at Lady Anne Funerals who wish they’d spent more time with their loved one before that person passed away. Don’t have the same regrets.
3. Get fit
If you haven't exercised in a while, you'll probably dread the thought of lacing up those runners. But trust me when I say that getting started is in fact the biggest hurdle! Once you get active, you’ll start enjoying the rush of happy endorphins that flood your body when you exercise and get the blood pumping. In fact, people can become so addicted to this feeling that they actually feel worse when they don’t exercise.
There's no need to begin marathon training from 1 Jan, so start small. For example: getting up earlier and taking a brisk 20 minute walk before work each morning can significantly improve your energy levels and focus for the rest of the day. Alternatively, you could try a quick workout during your lunch break to kickstart your body and brain.
As you become fitter and build more stamina, you can start increase the amount of time you exercise for...without risking going too hard too soon and psyching yourself out.
4. Quit addictive behaviours
Kicking the sugar/ alcohol/ nicotine habit is much easier with a game plan in place. If one of your goals for the new year is to quit smoking, drinking or sugar, make sure you’ve got strategies in place to help keep you on track at a vulnerable moment.
For instance: tell all your friends that you’re quitting so that they can avoid tempting you in their company. The simple fact that your friends will be watching may be enough to discourage you from temptation!
5. Meet new people, try new things
Have you found yourself feeling flat or out of touch lately? Losing touch with friends, working too much to enjoy a social life, or worse — rebuilding your life after the death of a spouse or loved one. Research has shown that laughter and smiling can significantly improve our wellbeing — so if you’re feeling a little isolated, or have been spending your time sitting at home wearing a frown, it might be time to start looking at ways to slowly restart your social life. .
Fortunately, it’s been proven that even fake smiling makes a difference...so setting New Year’s resolution to get more socially involved or just start fake smiling every day is a great place to start.
With thousands of online communities at your fingertips, there’s no excuse to hide! You can expose yourself to different thoughts, lifestyles and personalities by joining a meetup.com group, learning a new skill (such as cooking or a language) at TAFE night school or getting involved in a sports team. Just don’t forget to take the time to talk to people you meet along the way.
The New Year is the ideal time to make a fresh start. For those grieving from a recent loss, the start of the new year can signify the time to look forward and think about the rest of the journey. For compassionate advice on how you can commemorate a loved one and allow yourself to start again, join our Facebook community today.
