How to actually stick to your New Year’s resolution

As we are approaching the festive period of another challenging year, you may start to compile some resolutions or goals you hope to achieve in the New Year. In this article, we would like to give you some tips on how you can finally stick to these resolutions!

(let's be honest, most of us fail after a week… especially with going to the gym)

We found an article published by the Harvard Medical School which gives some great advice for following your resolutions (obviously backed by science). Below we will extract its main points and add our own for a complete guide on following your resolutions! Only a 5-minute read!

Set ambitious goals, but break them up into bite-sized chunks ‍

Big goals, such as quitting smoking or running a marathon, can be seemingly impossible to achieve; however, with the right motivation, these are all achievable... You might ask how that is, and the answer is to break up your goals into smaller ones. Breaking up your goals into smaller chunks can help you stay motivated as you tick them off one by one. Return to the analogy of running a marathon. Start by running 1km at a time, when you're comfortable with that, move up to 5km, then to 10, then a half marathon, and finally, you're at your goal. Remember that this is something you are working on for the whole year.

Reward yourself

Rewarding yourself with treats, days off, and gifts along the way can be a great way to boost motivation and acknowledge all the hard work you have already put into your goals.

Get support from those around you

Telling your closest friends and family about your goals can be a great help in your achieving them. Making a promise to your family that you want to lose 10kg this year can be a great motivator as you don't want to let them down! Your loved ones will be there to motivate and you.

Learn from previous shortcomings

If one of your resolutions is a previous goal you failed to achieve, use this to your advantage. Think about precisely what went wrong. Was the goal too ambitious? Did you lack motivation? Did you not pace yourself? Whatever it may be,

The process is more important than the end goal

So, what if I don't follow through with my resolutions? People's goals are often ambitious, challenging to achieve, so don't panic. The process you go through is often more important than the result. Even if you failed to run a marathon at the end of the year, look at the positive results of training and diet on your physical and mental health.

So, what should I take away from this?

Set yourself ambitious goals so that you are motivated to complete them, but break them up into smaller, more-achievable ones to have a sense of the progress you are making. Telling those around you about your goals can instil a sense of obligation to the goal and therefore help you achieve it. Likewise, frequently rewarding yourself for any achieved milestones can be a great way to stay motivated. Learn from previous attempts, and don't forget that the process you go through in striving to complete your goal is more important than its outcome.

We hope these tips will help you stay on top of your resolutions for 2022. Everyone at bioniq would like to wish you a great festive period and a Happy New Year!