Home > Skills > Making Resolutions

Tips for Making Resolutions

We often have things that we need to do in our lives and things that we want to change. Resolutions are a great way to bring about a desired change. However, while it's often easy to make resolutions, it's considerably harder to follow through with them. If you want to make resolutions that you successfully see through, make sure you are organized and know the steps you need to follow.

How to Make Resolutions
When making resolutions, take a good look at the things in your life that you would like to change. Take special notice of things that have been bothering you, no matter how big or small they are. Closely inspect the things that you think aren’t working and decide what you can do to make them better, if anything at all.

Knowing whether or not you can affect the situation is key to making a resolution. If you resolve to change something that you have no effect on, you will be disappointed and frustrated when things don't change and you find yourself in the same situation as before.

Picking Your Resolutions
After deciding what you would like to change in your life, pick a few resolutions that are the most important to you. Don’t try to accomplish all of your resolutions at once. Make a list of the resolutions and write down why you think you need to change these aspects of your life. Then, evaluate the entire list and choose the resolutions that are more reasonable, as well as most effective in making significant improvements in your life.

Make a Plan to Keep Your Resolutions
After making the list of resolutions, make another list that states how you plan to meet these resolutions. Putting together a procedure of how you will stick to and meet your resolutions is just as important as making the resolution (if not more!). Ask yourself: How do I plan to keep my resolutions? Are these reasonable tasks?

Let’s say one of your resolutions is to lose weight. In order to keep your resolution and accomplish your goal, develop a plan to lose the weight. Are you going to exercise more? What type of diet will you follow? Being as concrete with detail as possible is the best way to ensure success.

For instance, instead of telling yourself that you will exercise and diet to lose weight, decide to go to the gym three times a week and to stop eating fast food. With specific limits and tasks, you will get the job done. Figuring out the specifics of how you will achieve your resolutions helps ensure your success.

After making a list of how you will meet your resolutions, hang the list in a place where you will see it everyday. A good suggestion is to post your resolutions on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror. This reminds you of your resolutions on a daily basis, making it easier for you to keep them.

Enlist Help to Keep Resolutions
No one can meet their own resolutions without a little bit of support. Get involved in an online group or contact other people who you can trust. Talking about your resolutions to others who understand your desire to achieve your goal will help lead you to success.

Another important factor of keeping your resolutions is to keep track of your progress. By seeing your improvements, no matter how small, you can help yourself stay motivated to follow through with your resolutions.