Categories: Lifestyle

How To Make Your Health Resolutions Stick

You’re not alone if you want to make a difference in your life.

Most people like to begin the new year with resolutions that may include learning a new skill, making a significant life change like a job or relationship status, and improving an individual’s health.

But all too often, resolutions fall by the wayside as motivation wanes and routine daily activities begin to get in the way.

The thing is, resolutions are only as good as your discipline to see them through. Changing habits permanently requires consistency and dedication to see them through to become stuck.

So, how do you make your resolutions stick after changing your habits?

IMAGE: UNSPLASH

6 Tips To Make Your Resolutions Permanent

Whether it’s the new year or something you want to change, knowing how to decide to act and make those resolutions can be tricky. Here’s a list of 6 things you can do to make your resolutions become permanent habits.

Set realistic goals.
Make it fun and enjoyable.
Start slowly and gradually.
Focus on one goal at a time.
Find your people: create a support system.
Create a routine.

Be Realistic

If you want to make a lifestyle change, the first thing to do is set realistic goals. It might be fun to say you want to lose 20 lbs, but how realistic is that? While that may be your desired outcome, you’ll want to set smaller, more attainable goals.

In order to lose 20 lbs, you’ll need to make wholesale changes to your diet and exercise habits and do daily activities to reach that goal.

Instead, a more realistic goal would be to change your lifestyle habits from eating better to improving your exercise regimen and focus on 1 pound, then 2, and so on until you reach your overall goal.

Make It Fun And Enjoyable

In order to make your resolution stick, you need to set realistic steps to achieve an overall goal, but most of all, make it fun and enjoyable. Anything that you do should have a reward built into it to help you stay motivated.

If improving your health is the goal, find creative and entertaining ways to achieve it.

You’ll want to get enough sleep and avoid stress as much as possible, but in general, the more fun you have in an activity, the greater the chance you’ll return to it.

For example, consider joining a class or adult recreational sports league if you want to exercise more. You’ll get exercise and have social interaction simultaneously, making it more fun than just running alone.

Another thing you can do is consider using technology to make it fun. If joining an in-person class isn’t an option, consider something like a Peloton and do it virtually. Or something like red light therapy belts that help recover after your workouts.

You can use your recovery time with these therapy belts to combine enjoyable activities like watching your favorite Netflix show or movie.

By making things more enjoyable, you’ll have greater inspiration and motivation to continue. And the more you continue at a task, the greater it sticks, becoming a habit.

Start Slowly And Gradual

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they start a new routine is to go all in. This can cause a lot of problems, from burnout to potential injury, so it’s important to start something you can do that is challenging but not taxing.

Start slowly, start gradually, and take it easy as you increase your stamina and build your endurance. This is the best strategy to avoid burnout and the potential for injury.

Focus On One Goal At A Time

Trying to overhaul your life is too large of a task. If you were to have a cheat day and order a pizza, you wouldn’t shovel it into your mouth all at once. You’d eat it one slice at a time. Your new routines should be the same.

Focus on a tiny aspect and master that before moving on to another one.

Find Your People

One of the greatest motivators is to have people depending on us. Find like-minded people to whom you can commit, which will help keep you accountable when your motivation is dipping.

Create A Routine

Habits are easy to create when you do them repetitively, so creating a routine is essential to take your resolutions and make them stick. Have a daily and weekly plan that moves you one step at a time toward your overall goal.