2023 is here, and everyone is penning their New Year’s resolutions. Here are five tips to help you stick to yours!

New Year’s resolutions might not always work as planned. We lose track, we forget, and we give up. Nevertheless, we believe that resolutions and commitment to change can help you reach the next level, no matter your goals. Here are five tips to help you stay on track and keep your New Year’s resolutions.

1. Set Realistic Goals

It’s important to set realistic, reachable goals because you’ll never reach an unattainable objective, further discouraging you from future endeavors. For example, if your resolution is to cut junk food out of your life, you’re likely only going to drive your desire for junk food, meaning that when you finally indulge, you just might go overboard. Similarly, if your resolution is to be more active, it may not be realistic to spend two hours per day at the gym with your current schedule. It might, however, be more likely that you can fit four workouts into your schedule rather than three. Resolutions are about growth, not perfection.

2. Make Those Goals Measurable

The easiest way to know if you are on track to achieve or even exceed your goals is to make them measurable. Have a distinct starting point and a predetermined measure of success that either checks the box or doesn’t. It’s difficult to know if you’re a better or kinder person than you were last year. It’s not nearly as difficult to track, for instance, your community service hours or the total number of good deeds you go out of your way to perform in a given week. Measurable goals can give you a tangible result to work toward, offering satisfaction and potentially setting the table for further improvement.

3. Have a Plan to Achieve the Goals

It’s key to have a plan of attack when looking to achieve a goal, whether it’s financial, professional or personal. That plan should have clearly mapped out steps to reach your goal, giving you small checkpoints to hit along the way. Reaching those checkpoints can give you a sense of accomplishment, pushing you to continue toward the ultimate goal, whatever it may be. Again, it’s important that the plan be quantifiable, giving you insight as to whether or not it’s time to proceed forward to the next step. A plan can help you move toward your resolution at a pace you’re comfortable with, all while letting you know that your progress isn’t going unnoticed.

4. Use an “Accountability Buddy”

Everything is easier with a partner, especially when that partner has a similar or identical goal. That’s why we recommend using the buddy system. It’s not easy to drag yourself to the gym alone or stay away from junk food when ice cream is a staple in the freezer. It might be simpler, however, if, for example, your significant other joins you. Furthermore, while we believe in setting our own standards for happiness, there’s no doubt that our will to succeed on behalf of those we care about can be extremely strong. Understandably, you wouldn’t want to disappoint your buddy, and your buddy wouldn’t want to disappoint you.

5. Remain Positive

Yes, we know you’re probably overwhelmed with speeches singing the praises of positive thinking, but old adages and cliches are repeated for a reason. Positive thinking works, and it’s such an important part of the equation when it comes to reaching goals and bringing your resolution to life. Without that positivity, the will to succeed and the belief that you will, in fact, accomplish your goals, your new year’s resolution won’t work. Achieving any objective takes relentless commitment, no matter how manageable or how difficult, and remaining positive can help you stay focused and driven as you pursue your resolution.