Instead of setting a vague, boring resolution about going to the gym more often, why not set a specific goal? Aim to do something that is either gonna happen or not happen, with no half-hearted middle ground. Here’s everything you need to know about setting a clear, achievable New Year’s resolution, and going through with it all the way.
Be Specific
Here’s a bad New Year’s resolution: I’m going to be better about my health. It’s bad for a few reasons, but it’s worst offense is vagueness. Vague resolutions have no clear terms or ending conditions. Going through with them isn’t very satisfying because you can never quite tell when you’re finished, and when you’ve achieved your goals. Unclear goals aren’t as good for you either. In the example above, doing better about your health could mean any number of things, and none of them are necessarily big changes. It could just mean that I’ll eat less candy which, while good for me, isn’t that big of a change in my lifestyle. I could do a lot better just by aiming to achieve a more specific goal, like finishing a triathlon by the end of the year. Find a resolution that interests you and has a clear finish. Something like I’m going to finish an Ironman race this year has an unmistakable ending. You’ll have satisfied your goal when you complete that Ironman.
Aim High
Lofty goals like the Ironman will be great for you whether you achieve them or not. Just training for a triathlon will be a lot better for you than eating less candy, even if you don’t end up getting to the finish. Aiming high doesn’t have to mean picking some seemingly unattainable goal, and the challenges that your resolutions give you don’t always have to be centered around hard workouts and stressful diets. Whether your resolution is to go big with a Coast to Coast Walk, or hit a moderate goal like hiking in Torrey Pines, picking something that challenges and betters you is what matters. Find the right resolution that will challenge you in areas that you want to improve, and set unmistakable goal posts to track your progress.
Prove It
New Year’s resolutions are most well-known for how often people fail at them. Setting up a means of proving your success, both to yourself and others, makes you stand out and keeps you honest. Something like a personal vlog is a great way to keep yourself accountable and celebrate your success, or learn from your failures, with others. By vlogging weekly about your progress, you leave a record that you can use to go back and see how far you’ve come. You will also build an audience that you don’t want to disappoint and that sense of responsibility can help motivate you when the going gets tough. Who knows, you might even become the next Youtube star. Internet sensations have certainly erupted around less noble causes.
Plan Ahead
New Year’s resolutions are made at the very start of the year, usually in the dead of winter. For most people, though, this is one of the worst times to make progress on a New Year’s resolution, especially a dynamic one that involves more than just hitting the gym. It’s going to be hard to train for that triathlon in sub-zero temperatures. By using your time wisely you can take care of some essential prep work without boring yourself to death on a treadmill. For example, if you’ve never done a triathlon before, you probably don’t know what kind of wetsuit you’ll need for the swimming portion. The perfect time to research this kind of stuff is when you’re stuck at home, so you don’t find yourself unequipped the day before the race. Making commitments now can also help you incentivize yourself to put in the work when the weather improves. If you’ve done a lot of prep in the winter, you won’t want to let that work go to waste when springs rolls around. New Year’s resolutions are famous for not getting done. But, now you know everything that you need to do to make sure that your New Year’s goal doesn’t become another New Year’s flop.
