Sticking to your New Year’s resolutions in 2019 doesn’t have to be hard, in fact, it can be fairly easy if you know what you are doing. Here are my top 5 tips on how to stick your New Year’s resolutions:

1

Patience

Our minds are already convinced to make the change, now we have to spend the time convincing our bodies.

Remember that new habits aren’t formed overnight, habits take anywhere from 30 days to 6 months before they truly become effortless. This means being patient and taking small steps.

We all want to jump in full-force but taking small steps is the best way to develop long-lasting habits. Habits that will support your New Year’s resolution for a long time.

This means if you’ve chosen to incorporate a new way of eating into your lifestyle, do so slowly. Don’t just suddenly cut out sugar or caffeine, slowly wean yourself off. This will make sure that you don’t get burnt out after the 2-week mark.

2

Break it Down

Break your 2019 New Year’s resolutions down into small actionable steps. Organize these steps into a plan that you can follow. Having an actionable plan to achieve your New Year’s resolutions will make the difference. Trust me, it’s like going from walking down a street blind, so knowing where each bend and turn is.

Check out my post on creating no-fail goals, it has some great insight on how to make a plan and even has a free downloadable no-fail goal setting workbook.

3

Potential Roadblocks

After you’ve set your goals and made a plan, make sure you identify potential roadblocks too. Don’t give me the excuse that you’ll just deal with your roadblocks head-on as they approach. If that was the case, these goals would have been achieved a long time ago. You need a plan.

Identifying what has stopped you in that past and what might stop you in the future provides helpful insight. Insight that you can use to plan for the bumps in the road. That way when you hit a bump, instead of being thrown off of the road entirely, you swerve out of the way and then get back on.

4

Accountability

Find a source of accountability for your New Year’s resolutions. Whether it be yourself, a daily journal, checklist, or a coach, finding something or someone to hold you accountable is vital.

My personal favorite way to hold myself accountable is by following a to-do list that I check-in with daily. This check-list shows me what I want to do every day and how often I’ve done those things. Seeing visually how I am sticking to my plan is extremely motivating. I like to use the app coach.me, but there are plenty of other “check-in” and accountability apps out there.

Not sure what motivates and keeps you accountable? Check out Gretchen’s four tendencies quiz to see what forces motivate you and then use that to your advantage. Let me know in the comments down below what tendency you scored!

5

Acknowledge your wins

Along the way, you will make progress towards your goals and resolutions. It’s important not to wait until you’ve achieved your goals to give praise, make sure you are applauding yourself for all of your wins, big or small.

A great way to practice this is by engaging in a daily or weekly gratitude journal where you list everything you are grateful for and proud of. It’s a great way to keep track of your blessings and your achievements. Even simple wins like making a balanced choice at lunch or taking the stairs at work, deserve celebration.

Hopefully, these 5 tips inspire and help you to achieve your new year’s goals. Don’t forget to comment below what you scored on the four tendencies quiz and even if you didn’t take the quiz, I’d love to know how you’re planning to stick to your goals this New Year.