It’s that time of the year again! The time of the year that feels like a fresh start and the perfect opportunity to establish new goals and break out of bad habits. As we turn to this new page in our lives, many of us are starting to make our new year's resolutions with goals to improve health, increase productivity, and so on! As the saying goes, more than half of all New Years’ resolutions fail. Luckily, though, there are so many ways to keep yourself and your resolutions in check so that they last longer than the typical two months. That being said, here are seven tips to achieve all of your New Year’s ambitions: 

1. Be realistic. 

Set yourself up for success by making goals that are attainable! This means avoiding extremes like, “never eat sweets again!” Instead, for example, strive to consume less sweets than you do right now. Even better, make it a measurable goal like, “minimize sweets consumption to twice a week.” This way, you can have a clear target to aim for.

2. Write your goals down. 

Write it down, create a vision board, make it your lock screen! By putting your goals somewhere you can see them each day, you are constantly reminded of what you are striving for, and can actively think about what you need to do to get there. 

3. Plan ahead. 

Before getting started with your resolutions, create a timeline with change-driven objectives (i.e., smaller goals that will ultimately add up to help you achieve your main goal) that you want to achieve at certain points in the year. It will also help to include a list of ways that you can deal with future temptations that might pull you away from your goals. For example, on days you feel like buying take-out instead of cooking at home, you might want to hold yourself accountable and choose to instead invite a friend over to cook together! 

4. Get support. 

Having a solid support system can play a huge role in keeping you motivated. This allows both parties to feel less alone on their journey; so reach out to a family member, close friend, or even a fellow TWN member to share your goals and keep each other accountable!

‍5. Track your progress. 

It’s important to make sure you’re headed in the right direction with your goals, whether that’s through journaling, keeping a calendar, or a chart. This will help you visualize your progress and look back at what habits did or didn’t help you when setting other future goals. 

6. Reward yourself! 

Changing your lifestyle isn’t easy, so when you reach certain milestones, remember to give yourself a small reward! This could be a sweet treat, a small purchase of something you’ve been eyeing, or even a siesta at the end of every month you were able to keep up with your resolution(s). 

7. Don’t give up! 

Having an occasional slip is inevitable. Don’t spend too much time beating yourself up over it because it happens to everyone! Do your best and take it one step at a time, and if you have completely run out of steam to keep at your resolutions, it’s okay to take a short break and start over again after a couple of days! You can do it! 

Any type of lifestyle change will come with setbacks and failures, but always remember that those obstacles are there for you to grow as an individual, and learn more about what you need. Brush it off, talk to a peer that might be on a similar journey, make some changes, and try again. You’re stronger than you think. Now go make this year yours!