A New Year’s resolution is a promise to commit to some new habit or life style, starting January 1. The point of a resolution is to ultimately better yourself in the new year. However, this looks different from person to person. Some may promise to stop drinking soda and some may promise to recycle more but how does one ensure that this goal is met?

After all the festivities have been celebrated, the food eaten, and the relatives back in their homes, life seems to slow back down into its natural lull.

When setting goals, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Looking at it from a more practical perspective,you could refer to something called SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. Pull quote

The first requirement is that your goal has to be specific. In order to fulfil a goal, you need to know exactly what you are trying to achieve. Writing this out can be helpful so you can outline and organize everything.

The next question to ask yourself is “is my goal measurable?” Establishing a way to see if you are making progress is key. For example, if your goal is to go to the gym more, you can mark on your calendar when you do go. Then you can count up your marks and compare it with other months to see if you are heading towards your goal.

Something else to keep in mind is being realistic. One reason that people cannot achieve their resolution is because they set unrealistic goals. If you’ve been a smoker for 20 years and your resolution is to quit smoking-cold turkey-you might struggle with that. Something that is key when insuring you can achieve your resolution is making sure it is possible.

Another reason New Year’s resolutions might fail is because is that people might get discouraged quickly. Changing your lifestyle doesn’t happen overnight and people need to understand that good results take time. So be patient! Don’t give up when something seems to be “not working”. Setting a date to achieve certain landmarks on your way to your goal can be helpful and keep you on track when trying to change your way of life.