The Top 5 Secrets to Hitting Your New Year’s Resolutions

As we head into 2023, a lot of us are going to want to make New Year’s resolutions—and that’s not a bad thing. A New Year’s resolution can be a great way to commit yourself to good habits and throw out bad ones. You’re not committing to anything permanent or legal. It’s entirely personal. 

For all that, New Year’s resolutions are not actually binding, however, they can feel binding. If you get in over your head with a New Year’s resolution, you could end up feeling worse at the end of next year, rather than better. With that in mind, we’re offering some simple tips about how to create healthy New Year’s resolutions—and follow through with them.

1. Know Your Limits

There’s no point in setting yourself up for failure. Know your limits, and be aware of what you reasonably can and can’t do in 2023. If you’re working 60 hours a week at a high powered job while also raising a family at home, an hour a day at the gym may or may not be feasible for you. Conversely, you could have the time to work out—but maybe a gym membership isn’t right for your 2023 budget, and jogging around your neighborhood could be a better option. If you have knee pain that needs addressing, a marathon might not be a good 2023 goal until you see a doctor. Just keep track of these limits, and find ways around them, rather than pretending that they aren’t there.

2. Make A List

Make a list, and try to organize it in terms of priorities. While we often hear about the stereotypical New Year’s resolutions of losing weight, other goals might be more reasonable for you. Have you gone back to school? Perhaps you want to maintain a certain GPA. Are you pursuing an artistic hobby? Showing your work in 2023 could be a goal. List your goals for 2023, and prioritize them in terms of what you find most important, as well as what is most attainable.

3. Be Incremental

All or nothing thinking is often the end of a New Year’s resolution. Consider incremental change rather than sudden change. For example, if you’d like to cut alcohol out of your life in 2023, you might want to start by cutting down on your alcohol intake gradually, rather than quitting it cold turkey. Slowing down versus making a drastic change might not feel like a resolution—but that’s one big reason why resolutions often don’t work.

4. Consult the Pros

You don’t have to follow through on your New Year’s resolutions alone. If you’re trying to make a big life change, like losing a certain amount of weight, you might want to talk to your doctor or a nutritionist first—especially if you’ve had a hard time making this kind of change in the past. In the same sense, a therapist is a great option for people who are trying to make positive mental health changes.

5. Don’t Go Overboard

Just like you shouldn’t make your goals too lofty, you’ll also want to avoid taking on too many reservations. Don’t feel like you have to quit smoking and lose twenty pounds during the same year. If you take on too many resolutions, you won’t be able to focus on perfecting any of them. The point of a New Year’s resolution is not to stress—but to accomplish a goal.

Here’s the thing—a New Year’s resolution Is something you want to accomplish, not something you need to accomplish. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. But if you’re determined to make your resolution a reality, you have options!