While every year is a blessing, no year is perfect. Therefore, many people find themselves wanting to change something and do better the next year. These targets that we set for ourselves as January comes around are called New Year’s Resolutions.

Making these resolutions are a method to practice reaching your goals and bettering yourself as a person, and they are very healthy ways to start off a new year. But there’s one catch: they aren’t always easy to write and do successfully.

Here’s a helpful guide on how to effectively write New Year’s Resolutions that are reachable, productive, and purposeful!

• Pick a few, realistic resolutions – Many people will fill a sheet of paper or more with resolutions that they might not finish as the year comes to an end. If you are a goal-getter, then go for it! However, it might be a better idea to pick a few goals (realistic ones). This will allow you to focus more on each specific resolution, rather than juggling a dozen. The least we want to do with our resolutions is put ourselves in a crunch.

• Start preparing ahead of time. Physically and mentally – Truthfully, change can be a hard thing. Resolutions are essentially changes, some of which can be stopping an addiction or an unhealthy habit. Whatever your resolution(s) are, take the time before January to prepare yourself for your goals. It might help to slowly start your goal beforehand, that way your mind and body has some time to adjust to the unfamiliar changes.

• Write them down – Believe it or not, we can easily forget things if we don’t write them down. Having documentation of your goals, especially with a signature, is an agreement with yourself that you will push through and complete your resolutions. Not only that, but it is a visual way to help you remember what you want to do for the year.

• Be specific – Often, when making our resolutions, we tend to speak about our goals in general. However, in order to set a stable path for success, you need to be specific with your details, making sure that you know exactly what you will be doing, and by when you want to complete each resolution.

Here are some examples of general vs. specific New Year’s Resolutions:

• “I want to lose weight.” vs. “I want to lose 50 pounds by Christmas Day of (insert year.)”
• “I want to have a healthier diet.” vs. “I want to eat 2 cups of vegetables every day from this day, (insert date), forward.”
• “I want to save more money.” vs. “I will only go on a shopping spree (for unnecessary items) a maximum of once a month in the year of (insert year.)

• Explain your resolutions to a confidant. – Some resolutions might be private, and if so, that’s okay. But a good idea to help you remain determined is by telling your New Year’s Resolutions to a confidant (family member, friend, etc.) Doing so will help hold you accountable to your words, and the confidant of choice can help keep you on track!

• Make large goals smaller by splitting them into sections. – While healthy goals are great, we as humans may try to put too much on our own shoulders. Instead of making long, complicated goals, split them into smaller sections.

Here is an example of how you can make a large goal smaller:

Main Goal: I want to loose 50 pounds in the year of (insert year.)

• I will eat 2,000 calories per day.
• I will exercise for at least 30 minutes every day.
• I will loose 4 pounds, 2 ounces every month.

• Be prepared to reward yourself. – If when the end of the year comes around, you have completed your goal, I can say one thing to you: Congratulations! It’s about time that you congratulate yourself with a healthy reward. You worked hard to reach your goal! Now that you have done what’s best for your health, it’s time to give yourself a pat on the back!

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If you don’t remember anything else from this guide, keep in mind that change is an adjustment that takes getting used to. Change can be a good thing, however, with work, determination, and dedication, I’m sure that all of your resolutions will be met!

Have a beautiful day, everyone! 🎉