January 1 comes year upon year with promises of new adventures, realised manifestations and ultimately, a better you. However, so many of us have the best of intentions but are back to our bad habits by January 15 – if not before.
One woman cursed with breaking her New Year’s resolutions year upon year took to Mumsnet to share her top tip for sticking to her January goals.
There’s a lot to be said for sharing your aspirations with your nearest and dearest so they can hold you accountable.
However, this woman holds the opposite view, believing that the secret to maintaining a New Year’s resolution all year round is just that – a secret.
She took to the forum a few years ago explaining that there were two things she was “resolved” to achieve in the New Year.
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And a self-help book entitled Be Your Own Life Coach by Fiona Harrold gave her the guidance to see it through.
An excerpt from the book read: “Be very selective in the things you choose to discuss about yourself with others.
“Develop the discipline of keeping your own counsel and being discreet about your life.
“Keep what’s heartfelt and important close to your chest. Live with dignity and preserve the mystery of who you are.”
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She explained why people should keep their New Year’s resolutions hushed until they’ve actually achieved them.
“Too many times over recent years have I made bold, public declarations about my intentions and goals, only to fall flat on my face.”
She continued that telling the world about your goals might actually “derail you” from achieving them.
“The more you fail to keep to the resolution you told everyone you were keeping, the further away the goal you told everyone you were aiming for is from your grasp, the more likely you are to give up on it.
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“Because the fact that you told everyone about it just makes you feel even worse about your lack of achievement – and thus, of course, less likely to achieve it.”
Many fellow Mumsnet users agreed with this idea and took to the comments section to share the sentiment.
One said: “Apparently telling people somehow gives our brain the sense we’ve already done it.
“We have the idea and do the grand announcement and get the praise and encouragement and that’s enough – it’s rewarded and there’s no impetus to actually do it.”
Withholding from blabbing your New Year’s resolutions might just be your ticket to sticking to them.
Psych2Go shared some further tips for reaching your New Year’s goals. The first tip was to start slow and steady with one goal first, not overwhelming yourself on January 1. Other New Year’s resolutions can be added after the first few weeks of the year. Make sure to track your progress in a notebook, daily or weekly.
Taking time to plan your resolutions a week before New Year’s Eve is another way to make things easier, as you will have given it a lot of thought before making a final decision on what you want to do.
Using a reward system to motivate yourself to stick to your goals is also a good idea for those who lose motivation.
Lastly, add healthy reminders into your day and your wider environment in order to keep yourself on track, getting rid of other reminders that may sway your in more negative ways.
