New Year’s resolutions are common this time of year. People begin to reflect on the current year and years past to determine changes desired to be made for the upcoming year. Many look to develop healthy lifestyles, accomplish more, budget time efficiently, etc. An area that may not be thought of is strengthening your mental health. While physical and spiritual parts of one’s life are important to improve, mental health plays a big role that affects every area of life. For example, New Year’s resolutions are great to make, but it’s important to follow through with the commitments made so you don’t feel like you’re letting yourself down. Here are some ways to help keep those promises you made to yourself.
Many times, people like to jump right into goals and expect instant results. Today’s society struggles with this type of mentality and it can lead to frustration, disappoint, and failure. These results can damage mental health because of the negative impact they can have on a person.
However, laying out small obtainable goals that lead to the main goal can dramatically boost self-esteem, confidence, and positive results. For example, let’s say that a New Year’s resolution is to run a 5k marathon. Begin making small goals such as setting aside time each day to work out, but set those times with beginner level tasks. It’s not realistic to run a 5k in a short amount of time the first few attempts, if you’ve not done anything like this before. There’s many resources to help reach the goal of running a 5k for the first time. There are smartphone apps, downloadable plans, and local fitness coaches to help reach your goal.
No matter how big or small the resolution, it’s a good idea to start small and line up those small goals to eventually reach the main goal. Accomplishing small goals will increase courage to keep going and bring a sense of accomplishment along the way.
New Year’s resolutions are best accomplished with the from someone else. Having an accountability partner increases your chances of completing the resolution. Some benefits of having accountability includes encouragement, discipline, and building relationships. For example, if you are trying to lose weight, an accountability partner can help follow-up with how the diet is going and offer encouragement to refrain from certain foods.
Life is not meant to live alone and adding an accountability partner can benefit both parties by accomplishing goals together. This concept translates well into marriages. Setting goals together strengthens relationships because of communication and effort that must be worked on through the process. Ideas of resolutions couples can make together can include fitness, finances, travel, activities, and more. It can be something simple as taking ten minutes at the end of each day to go over highlights of the day.
One of the best feelings is the sense of accomplishment, but one of the worst feelings is when those accomplishments go unrecognized or unrewarded. There won’t always be someone around to give that kind of attention. Therefore, at times it is necessary to boost your self-esteem with rewards.
Let’s say you’re working towards making a budget to pay off debt. Something you could consider doing is setting aside money to be able to splurge a little. Budgeting means sacrificing, which means potentially giving up activities you enjoy doing such as going to the movies, eating out, or playing golf. All of these cost money. If you have money set aside to periodically take part in those activities, it will not only reward yourself but will help balance how time and money is spent. Thus, giving yourself another sense of accomplishment. It’s a win, win.
All in all, making New Year’s resolutions are good thing. While it can be quite cliche at times, it does the mind well to set and complete goals. Whether you’re deciding to travel more, become fit, or simply cut out some things in your life, there is always room for improvement. The tips mentioned in this post can help you reach those goals. Take time to evaluate and plan , then see how your resolution leads to another great year.