New Year's Resolution Ideas and how you can achieve them

Many of us don't make resolutions anymore for afraid of not following it through and being disappointed. Many of us who do resolve at the beginning of the year also end up with the same result.

Why our resolutions fail

Because we don't resolve things that we care for. Or we are so confused about what we want, we end up making too many promises and fail in all of them. So be precise in what you want and also honest. Make a resolution not based on what is right but on what you want in your heart. 

• Make it specific- what you want, how much you want and till when you want to make it happen.
• They should be realistic and achievable. 
• Don't expect drastic results and push yourself too hard. Slowly ease your pace. Start with smaller goals and easier techniques and gradually scale up.

Here are some of the popular resolutions and how you can achieve them:

Keep Healthy Snacks Near to Have A Healthier Diet

As we grow older, we realise good health is not something that can be taken in granted. We have to put extra efforts to stay healthy. Most of us resolve for the same every time the new year comes around. But not many of us are able to stick to it.

Who can blame us? With ever-increasing fast-food restaurants and even faster-increasing food delivery services, it has become so easy to get cooked delicious junk food at your home within an hour. 

Try following these tips to curb these cravings-

• Be equipped with healthy snacks, so you don't go for whatever's easily available.
• Don't mix entertainment and eating. Avoid watching movies and show when you are eating. You always end up binging. 
• Instead try eating mindfully, slowly, chewing at least 30 times. When you are eating while being completely aware, you can enjoy the flavour without being a compulsive eater. 
• Not all healthy foods are tasteless. Chose the ones which you happen to like.

Self-Love can help you with more exercising

A healthy diet goes with physical exercise too. And both are equally difficult to bring into our habits. There are cases where many celebrities suggested that eating everything is fine, as long as it is not overdone and is complimented with strict exercising.

• Actress Sarah Ellen says she appreciates a delicious meal, but in moderation and does yoga and cardio to sweat out.
• Use technology. There are so many apps that can help you build a perfect exercise plan, be it any kind. They have inbuilt reminders and progress trackers and even cheat days. Since most of are so dependent on technology, it is easy to bring this into a habit.
• With the innumerable form of exercises- you have so many options to choose from, which is the best fit for you. If you are into rhythm and beats, try Zumba, if you happen to be living in a beautiful green locality go for cycling. Swimming, walking, jogging, aerobics; choose your saviour.
• Self- love and kindness can help you with your goals because once we start loving ourselves, we start taking care of it, do everything to make it healthy.

"Treat yourself like someone you loved" -Adam Roa

Meditation can make you a mental ninja

Most of us want to let go of some of the bad mental practices that make us less productive. If that's your resolution too, meditation can be your answer. It can help you with:

• Procrastination- A big hurdle to be more productive 
• Crippling anxieties and negative thoughts
• The habit of drifting with our unfocused and unconcentrated efforts.
• Emotional stress 

Be bold to grab more opportunities

If the resolution is to take more risks and opportunities then, read the following tips to develop more confidence:

• Take pride in your achievements. Take help from your past success, remember last time you took a risk and it worked out well.
• Repetitive practice of visualisation and affirmation can build your body and mind how you want it to be.
• Improve the way you talk to yourself. Talk to yourself with more kindness and compassion.

Try to reduce extravagant expenses

By the end of the month, you find yourself sitting with your accounts, ruing about many unnecessary expenses. And you vow to be less reckless when it comes to our expenditure this year, go through the following tips-

• Stop using your credit cards or rather stop carrying it around all the time.
• Make a budget and track your spending from day 1.
• Remove everything you don't require. The subscriptions you don't use anymore, sell things not required, set your necessities straight and do away with everything else.

Meet new people and make friends by smiling more

Having a good social network is an asset, not just for emotional reasons but also for success. Good and knowledgeable people help us learn more about different things. They open new avenues of opportunities for us. They make us feel more confident. It's a good reason to decide to make more connections.

• Be genuine and don't try to change yourself to make others like you more. Everyone likes an honest friend with whom they can share their feelings. By sharing your honest feelings and fears, you encourage them to do the same.
• Be more openminded, so you can accept others how they are, no matter how different your opinions and mentality be.
• Smile and have fun. People are always attracted to laughter and joy.
• Put away with your shyness, be courageous to make plans and follow through.
• Try enrolling for things you like where you can meet like-minded people.

Fill screen time with other interesting habits 

Thanks to researchers and entrepreneurs who keep on bringing groundbreaking technologies- apps and software, phones and computers are no more a luxury or a time pass but have become a necessity. Our work, our studies, even our cooking won't happen unless we log ourselves into this digital world. But it comes with a lot of health and social issues. What can you do to limit its usage?

• Don't leave your phone on your bed or study table or wherever you work. The closer it is to you, the more you will reach out for it. 
• Delete all the fruitless time-consuming apps or ask a friend or family to put a lock on it, so you cant access until an emergency. Keep only the essential ones working.
• Fill your day with hobbies and activities that interest you. Make yourself busy enough not to go dwelling into the virtual world.

Keep away from triggers to manage addiction

While screens are one of the most common addiction, there are many others which can have graver and more immediate effects. And it's a long, painful journey but a very necessary one to be able to live a healthy life. Let this year be less compulsive and more rewarding.

• Take help from friends and family and other support groups. Like any journey, this too is very difficult to go through alone.
• Keep the things (fast food, booze, drugs) and their triggers physically away from you as far as possible. Cleanse your house first of all the poison and do the same with your body. 
• Meditation can again help you with this.
• Be informed about withdrawal symptoms and take help from someone who has medical know-how. 

And then there is the most popular resolution- to be richer. Chances are if you can successfully achieve all the above goals, your path to a richer lifestyle is already put into motion. Be more confident, open to more opportunities, connect with successful people, get emotionally and mentally strong, avoid needless spending and take help from all the resources available (internet, books, people etc.) to learn and improve.

Conclusion

So, let's build a successful year this time. End of one more year means one lesser year to make your dreams come true, so don't waste your time anymore. Make a good plan marked with all the milestones and launch your new year with excitement and intention. Make this year count!

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Co-author: Shreya Arya

A digital marketing enthusiast with experience in HR and hospital management, Shreya has wide interests ranging from philosophy, psychology to latest trends in automation. She is also a freelance content writer and loves lending beautiful words to ideas and feelings.