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One of the best parts of welcoming a brand new year is to set fresh goals for the year ahead and achieve new things that not only help break the monotony of the past year but also steer us ahead in life by way of self-development. However, as exciting as New Year resolutions are, sticking to them after a month or so becomes a challenging task for most. It happens because we may be setting unrealistic goals for ourselves which can be a tad difficult to achieve. Another reason could be a lack of clear strategy to achieve those goals. Life is full of ups and downs and sometimes, people may not be able to stick to their New Year resolutions due to certain situations. Also, if we are not careful about setting realistic and interesting goals, we may lose interest in them over a period of time. (Also read: New Year 2023: Best resolutions for your health and overall well-being)
Not adhering to New Year resolutions can have a negative impact on our mental health and people are likely to be disappointed and frustrated with themselves and may suffer from low self-esteem. Experts say it is best to set resolutions which are realistic and which may really have an impact on your life.
Arouba Kabir, Mental Health counselor and Founder, Enso Wellness says if you are finding it difficult to stick to your new year resolutions, the problem might be in the resolutions.
Arouba suggests few tips and tricks to stick to your New Year resolutions:
1. Intention behind the resolution
This is very important and not often talked about. What is your intention behind that New Year resolution you are making because if it is coming from a space – ‘I want to show others’, ‘people will like me for this’, and many such reasons – your mind might not be able to support you in achieving it. So, set the intention right. Choose the new year resolution which you want to do it for yourself not for anyone else. Then write down the positives that resolution will bring in your life and stick that somewhere on your wall.
2. Realistic and achievable resolutions
It’s very important for us to have realistic resolutions and be specific. When making your New Year resolutions or any kind of resolutions in your life, you should be specific. For example, if you are trying to lose weight set small goals for yourself. Losing 5 kgs in two months with exercise and diet and following healthy lifestyle is a realistic goal. So, this resolution is talking about your goal and actionable steps through which you can achieve that goal instead of saying I will lose five kgs in one month just by dieting, or just by exercising.
3. Focus on what to do than what not to do
Our brain does not understand “not”. So, if you want to bring a change in your behaviour because you have an unhealthy habit, focus on what you want to do rather than what you should not do.
4. Be kind and compassionate to yourself
Change is hard so you might not be able to achieve the results you intend. So appreciating yourself even for small wins would really go a long way.
