6 tips for those looking to keep their New Year promises

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If your attempts to change your life since January 1 have been failing all the time, try a different approach in 2021.

More often than not, our promises for the year to come are about changing habits. For example, to do sports twice a week, as you solemnly promise yourself, momentary motivation is not enough. You will need the strength to make you do it. And this is not at all willpower, which, as you know, is finite, but the power of habit.

To get into a habit, you need certain situations, favorable environmental factors and the right inner attitude. This is real, although it will take a lot of time and effort on your part.

1. Control your impulses

We all have momentary weaknesses that don't align with our goals. If you go over them one, two, five times, a habit will form, and temptations will lose their power.

A good way to deal with these impulses is with some kind of reward, enjoyable moments that you will find for yourself in achieving your goals and developing new habits.

For example, you decided to run every morning in the new year, found a place where you can do it in winter, took out a tracksuit and a light jacket from the closet. In general, we have prepared in full. And on the appointed morning, waking up on an alarm clock at 6 o'clock and remembering that you have to go for a run, you want to give up on everything and stay in a warm bed. It's cold outside, but at home you can sleep for another hour.

If you stop this urge and get out of bed, chances are your run will take place, but it will be easier the other time.

So what can you do to overcome the urge to go nowhere? Think of something nice for yourself. For example, agree to run with friends - so you will be ashamed not to come, and running in the company is more fun than alone.

2. Acquire the necessary skills

Do your goals require some kind of skill? Don't delay purchasing them. For example, if you decide to improve your figure in the new year, choose a convenient fitness club for yourself and talk to a trainer about individual lessons. If your goal is to buy a car and start driving, sign up for a driving course. For leadership positions, take leadership courses or read related books.

The more you do to achieve your goal, the more likely it is to succeed.

3. Surround yourself with the right people

No matter how we try not to pay attention to the opinions of others, they strongly affect us, and we unwittingly obey the attitudes adopted in society. So the people around us are of the utmost importance in achieving our goals.

For example, if in the new year you want to live more economically or save up for something important, you should not circle around people who spend money right and left.

To help society help you achieve your goals, choose your company carefully. By the way, new acquaintances from the various courses that you went to in order to achieve what you want are a great help. The people there are probably infected with the same idea as you.

4. Maintain motivation

From time to time, your motivation will subside. This is fine. In order not to abandon the movement towards your goal, you need to find something that will support your determination.

Themed communities and sites are perfect for this, where you can chat with people who share your goals, or just read motivating information.

For example, if you want to quit smoking, in moments of weakness, you can read articles about the dangers of this habit or watch a movie based on the book by Allen Carr.

5. Reward Yourself for Small Achievements

It is not very pleasant to think that a person is amenable to training, like a dog, in whose minds the execution of a command is associated with the received treat. However, this is true: in our brains, connections are built between action and the reward for it. The only difference is that you train yourself by forming healthy habits.

For example, for a good workout, you might reward yourself with your favorite banana shake. When you follow this sequence for several days, the brain remembers it, and it's much easier for you to force yourself to start training.

So between you and achieving long-term goals is a long chain of small tasks and small rewards for completing them.

6. Prepare your environment to achieve the goal

What surrounds you every day: objects, furnishings at home and at work, other external factors - strongly affect the ability to fulfill your promise. So along with the acquisition of the necessary skills, gradually change your environment to suit your goals.

For example, if you've made a promise to yourself to stay fit, empty the fridge of unhealthy foods and make room for home workouts. If you want to cope with addiction to social networks, remove them from bookmarks, remove applications from your smartphone, or turn off notifications.

Take each of your goals and carefully analyze the environment for inconsistencies. If you find factors in your environment that can interfere with performance or reduce resolve, eliminate them.

Never rely on motivation alone. Instead, do whatever it takes to make your goal a new habit and make it as easy as possible.