2023 has quickly passed by, and, likely your New Year resolutions have been left by the wayside. Don’t feel bad: most people have that same experience. The vast majority of people who try to set New Year’s resolutions don’t succeed and find themselves leaving these goals behind by February. However, even though it’s not the New Year, you can still try to create a new habit and resume some of those goals you had set for yourself.
There is plenty of time
Sure, you won’t feel like you’re starting over in January, but it doesn’t matter. There are still several months left of this new year before it goes away. How do you want to use this time?
We trick ourselves into waiting for a significant, special moment to start again or try something new: next Monday, the start of a New Year, and so on. However, this is not a necessary condition for change. All you need is the desire to make a change and implement a new habit.
Remember your goals and resolutions
It can make us feel guilty and ashamed to remember something we did not accomplish. However, allow yourself to focus on the goals you wanted to achieve during this year. Do you still want the same things?
Pick a single goal to focus on, one that you can achieve by building a habit. You can focus on exercising, improving your diet, building a business, learning a new skill, or any other goal that you want, however big or small.
Be consistent
You don’t have to do a lot. If you have never jogged, you won’t be able to run for an hour every day and that’s fine. However, running five minutes every day is better than trying to run for an hour. You need to find a way to be consistent.
Often, you should try to start as small as you can. This will help you maintain a habit even when things get tough. A part of you might feel dissatisfied, however, experience shows that starting small is the best way of attaining consistency, and consistency is the best and only way to build an enduring habit.
Remember that it’s not too late
It’s never late to start something new and positive. This applies on the small scale; it doesn’t matter if it’s July or September or December, you can still try to build a new habit and improve your life. But it also applies on a larger scale. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still make a positive change. Even if your whole life has
gone a certain way, you have the power to change that.
Often, we limit ourselves. We believe that we can’t do it, that it’s too late to try. But if we never try, it’s sure to never come to pass. If we try, we get a fighting chance.
Build up your motivation
The next step is to build your motivation. Consider why you want this goal. What will it bring to your life? How will you change? What will your life be like with this goal fulfilled, completely or partially? Discover everything that can change and keep this in your mind.
When you feel that your motivation is waning, remember why you want this to be a part of your life. Consider why you are trying. To keep your motivation alive, remember to move in small steps, celebrate each success, and take your time.
Be kind to yourself
To maintain a habit, you need to be consistent, but you also need to be kind to yourself. There are going to be days when you get sick or feel poorly, and it’s fine to recognize that. There might be days when you lose sight of the goal or fail to follow through. This is normal.
Guilt and shame are likely to stop you from moving on, and kindness can have the opposite effect. If you give yourself the chance to fail, it will be easier to get up again and keep moving. Be kind to stay consistent, and stay consistent to achieve what you need.
