4 ways not to break New Year’s resolutions

New Year, new plans. Do you know it? You’ve probably made a long list of New Year’s resolutions more than once. But answer yourself, how many of them have you managed to fulfill? Your enthusiasm quickly cools down and reality comes along and quickly modifies them. Then there’s the frustration when you don’t see results quickly, or simply lack of time. Fortunately for you, we have 4 ways not to break your New Year’s resolutions. Check them out quickly. With them, you’re sure to succeed this time.

Lose weight, quit smoking, resume physical activity – these are the list of regular visitors  among resolutions. Every year, most of us, struggle with old resolutions that we failed to keep last year. Why? The reason is lack of consistency, limited motivation, loss of faith in success and a flurry of responsibilities. Are these the only reasons why our last year’s resolutions ended in failure? 4 ways not to break New Year’s resolutions will make your task easier this year.

Ask yourself what you really want in the New Year Often our resolutions and goals come from thoughts of “what I should” and “what I must” rather than what I really want. Most people have  the problem with clearly defining “what it wants,” for the reason that it is knowledge that comes from intuition, not from our conviction. Intuition is the whispers of the soul that help you make the right choice. It is the opposite of logic, which we follow on a daily basis, and which has sometimes failed us. How then do we correlate intuition with our resolutions?  Ask yourself, what do you really want in the New Year? And is what you set as a goal for you “what you should” or “what you want”?

Instead of putting another resolution in the category of “I have to” quit smoking, “I have to” lose weight, think and feel what you sincerely want for yourself. Maybe deep down you want to go on an exotic trip to Bali straight out of Ryan Murphy’s “Eat, Pray, Love” movie, during which, communing with the local tradition and culture, you will get to know yourself, appreciate some unnoticed aspects of your life, and maybe even instinctively fulfill the other resolutions?  

Recall your first dreams, which you lived when you were a little girl. When you contemplated what you were going to do in the future, when you dressed up in your mother’s clothes imitating a grown woman. Do you remember those feelings? You knew how to use your imagination perfectly then and make your thoughts a reality for you. Go back to that. When you set a goal for a slender figure, quitting smoking, or maybe a six-month trip around the world – which will allow you to recuperate and collect your thoughts – spend 20 minutes every morning visualizing your daily  already achieved goal. Allow yourself the emotions that accompany you then: happiness, joy, satisfaction, further motivation. This daily moment for yourself, will not only be a step towards fulfilling your resolutions, but also a ritual that puts you in a good mood.  

Visualization is the most important and determining tool of our mind’s work. If you’re having a hard time gathering your thoughts, you can play your favorite playlist, immerse yourself in warm bedding, wool socks and your imagination – Danish hygge style. And if you’re worried that your new ritual might be gone after three days – you’ll be able to get away with it.  use the technique of newspaper clippings. Cut out photographs depicting the goals you want to achieve. For example: do you dream of an athletic figure? Cut out the figure of a woman who portrays such an image! You can also add a funny aspect and paste a photo of yourself in place of the woman’s face in the photograph. If you don’t have time to flip through magazines – find photos on the Internet that match your resolutions and stick them in a place,  where you look every morning – for example, in your closet or closet.

Be guided by a quote from American psychotherapist and motivational book author Wayne Dyer – “If you change the way you look at sundry things, those things you look at will change” – so don’t be afraid, visualize what you want! 

The aforementioned visualization is just the engine that drives you to action. When you have  a resolution or goal – remember – don’t put it off. The habit of putting off actions or tasks is called procrastination in psychology – which is often the result of stress, anxiety and fear of failure. These negative feelings hold us back, and as a result we put off our goals and desires.

And “later” means nothing more than that the expiration date of our resolution is passing. As a result, we reach a state of frustration intertwined with false motivation, when at the end of each week we repeat to ourselves that we will start fulfilling our resolutions from Monday. Forget. It’s a vicious cycle, if you want something then the most appropriate time to achieve that goal is “now.” Every subsequent thought only dissuades you from fulfilling it. However, if the implementation of your resolution puts you in the aforementioned emotional swing – go back to step one. Maybe what you set as a goal in 2017 is not what you really want?  

Don’t give up if it doesn’t work out for you, if you forget to fulfill your resolutions or visualize your goal. Life is a game consisting of a series of trials, where each trial is part of your victory. Have the courage to fulfill your resolutions and act – it’s your life, it’s supposed to be fun, not an ordeal of constantly postponed responsibilities. These are all 4 ways not to break your New Year’s resolutions. Get to it!