Every January, people around the world set New Year’s resolutions about anything from sugar intake to cell phone use. Unfortunately, many of those resolutions don’t last very long. Here are a few ideas for choosing powerful goals and getting great results.
1. Make them exciting!
If you aren’t psyched to fulfill your goals, the odds of you fulfilling them will be slim. Want to lose weight but hate going to the gym? Sign up for an ice skating class or join an intramural team instead. Need to cut back on Netflix or Facebook? Start a new club or learn a skill you’ve always wanted to try. There’s no reason becoming a better person can’t be fun!
2. Check your progress
A vague resolution is more of a wish. Make sure your goal measurable. Try cutting it into smaller chunks or choosing a few dates to check up on how you’re doing. That way if you haven’t made enough progress by April, you’ll know how much to step up your game.
3. Don’t let mistakes stop you
Have you ever quit a resolution after the first week because of a slip-up? Make sure your goals can be accomplished even if you make a few mistakes along the way. Forgive yourself when you mess up, and try again! And if a resolution clearly isn’t working out after several tries, you may want to modify it. Better to choose a more realistic goal then to give up entirely.
4. Get a friend involved!
Almost everything is more fun with a buddy, right? If you’d like, get a family member, significant other, or friend to make the same goal as you so that you can work together and encourage each other! Even if you’d prefer to make a resolution just for yourself, tell someone about it. That will help you feel more accountable for completing your goal, and you’ll have someone to report your progress to.
5. Pray for help
It may sound silly to talk to God about a goal to eat more vegetables, but if Amulek taught the Nephites to pray over their fields (Alma 34:20), shouldn’t we pray about our resolutions? After all, our personal improvement is important to God. He is eager to bless us with strength, vision, and assurances that He is pleased with our efforts. We just have to ask.
What other ideas have been helpful to you with past years’ resolutions? Let us know in the comments, and good luck with your 2018 goals!
Photos by Joshua Earle, Allie Milot, Estee Janssens, Dmitry Ratushny, Joseph Pearson, and Ben White.
