We have a special guest post today from Jessica at The Failed Dieter. She writes about her weight loss journey she’s on and she’s doing amazing!! So excited to have her with us today 🙂 Thanks Jessica!!
We all make New Year’s Resolutions with the best of intentions. This year’s gonna be different, we tell ourselves in January. But then by February or March, we’ve probably already fallen off the wagon and abandoned whatever goals we had made for ourselves. Why do we do this?
If you really would like to lose weight, quit smoking, or read 30 books this year and stick to it, check out these 5 ways to keep your New Year’s Resolutions!
5 Ways to Keep your New Year’s Resolutions
Make only one BIG resolution in January and stick with it
How many times have you seen someone’s New Year’s Resolution list, and it has a ton of lofty goals? How many days do you think went by before that person’s list went into the recycle bin? Figure out which item you want to change the MOST and stick with it. In 2014, I managed to quit smoking, lose 40 lbs, and bring my credit score up tremendously. However, none of these were actually my New Year’s Resolutions. My resolutions were something like, “listen to a different new wave band from a different letter of the alphabet every week”, or something like that. (I gave up in the Ds when I couldn’t decide between Duran Duran or Depeche Mode.) I didn’t make my commitment to lose weight until January 20th, when I had finally had enough of the shape things were in. Which leads me to…
Make a resolution you are READY to keep
If you’re not totally fed up with your size and shape and state of your body, then you are not going to be able to stick to a healthy eating plan. If ultimately you’re fine with how you look and feel, eating that candy bar isn’t going to be a big deal to you. If you’re not totally done with smoking and you’re not 100% committed to quitting, you’re not going to quit. You have to be at that place where you are ready for a new you, a new start.
Make mini-resolutions you know you can keep
One thing I always do when I make to-do lists is write some things I know can be crossed off easily. Then I feel like I’ve still accomplished something even if there’s a big project that is taking a lot of my time. So think of some small improvements you know you can stick with, like “Make my bed every morning”, or “stick all my spare change in a jar”. Even little improvements can become big improvements into your overall well-being!
Break your elephant into small bites
Maybe instead of saying “I’m going to read 30 books this year”, you say, “I’m going to read this week.” You may finish your book in a couple of days; great! You may not. But did you read? Yes you did! You’re already reaching your goal! Sometimes giving yourself a YEAR to do something, especially if you’re a procrastinator, can be daunting!
Make resolutions all year long
Make daily, weekly, and monthly goals. I quit smoking in June of 2014, after I had started to get a handle on my health and fitness plan. I was ready for a new me and 100% committed to quitting. You don’t have to wait until January rolls around to improve the situations in your life! You might find it better to give yourself “do-overs” bi-annually, seasonally, or even monthly. It’s always a great time to improve upon yourself!
Ultimately, stay positive, stay diligent, and don’t get overwhelmed! You are on your way to becoming a better you in 2016!
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Jessica Bowman is a blogger and virtual assistant for the health and fitness industry. She is the owner of Jebbica’s World, a health and fitness blog that chronicles her journey to lose 75 lbs the healthy and happy way. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two dogs. You may have heard her singing 80s karaoke…loudly. Check out her blog or email her at jebbica [at] jebbicasworld [dot] com!
Jebbica says
Thanks for sharing my guest post! I love Daily Momtivity and getting to be a part even in this way. 🙂 Have a great week!
Shannon says
We LOVED having you 🙂 Will have to do it again!!