How to stick to your New Year's resolutions

Stick To Your Goals

It’s almost like New Year’s resolutions were designed to mock us. You go into the new year with the best of intentions, ready to give up on chocolate, quit the ciggies, stop drinking or start an exercise plan -- but you wind up in a pit of despair by January 5, sipping on a glass of rosé while chowing down on a Cherry Ripe as a way of getting the cigarette taste out of your mouth. So how do you stick to your guns and uphold to your new year’s resolutions?

Write it down

Put pen to paper and write your new year's resolutions down. Stick them up in a place where you'll see them all the time, like your bathroom mirror, or pop them in diary or your day planner. If you can view and re-read your goals every day, it will help you stay the course and avoid the temptation to slip up.

Be realistic

Don't set yourself up to fail by picking a "pie in the sky" goal that you'll never achieve! Instead, set yourself realistic goals that you know you have a chance of reaching. You can make resolutions that are clearly defined and that you feel good about, without striving for something that is out of reach. For instance, if your new year's resolution is to pay off your credit cards, create a realistic timeframe to meet your goal.

Find a friend

Resolutions are best made in pairs. If you can find a friend and commit to the same new year's resolution together -- such as a healthy eating plan, or saving a certain amount of money -- then you'll be accountable to each other, and you'll have a better chance of sticking to it. Also, both of you will be going through the same experience and you may be able to lend a hand when the going gets tough.

Set a timeframe

Any goal worth it's salt is attached to a specific timeframe, as there's nothing like a deadline to get you motivated! Set a timeframe for your resolution so that you're working toward a specific date, and so you have an opportunity to measure your success. For instance, if you want to lose 5kg, set a date of two months down the track to reach you goal, and aim to lose a little over 1kg per fortnight.

Take it day by day

Work on your new year's resolution every day -- by breaking it down into a day-by-day proposition, you won't feel as overwhelmed by the "bigger picture", and your goal will feel more achievable. Let's say you want to quit smoking. Don't concentrate on the fact that you won't be able to light up this Saturday night when you catch up with your girlfriends, or that you'll no longer sneak out of the office every afternoon for a smoke break with you co-workers. Instead, just try to make it through the day in front of you without reaching for your cigarettes, and mark each day off your calendar to help keep you on track.