Five Ways to Help You Stick to Your New Year’s Goals

After the crazy year we just had, we are all ready for something new and better in 2021. As we all have experienced in years past, as January continues, the motivation to attain lofty goals wears off - and we are left wondering why we made those resolutions in the first place if we weren't going to stick with them.

The fact is, your resolutions are worth keeping. You made them for a reason, didn't you? They either benefit your health or your finances or enhance the time you spend with loved ones, and that is absolutely worth fighting for. The thing is, you can make whatever habits or practices you want to add your life work, you just have to make them a habit. Now, getting to the point where your resolution is a habit and not something you have to force yourself to do is the difficult part, but you survived 2020. You can absolutely win the battle with your New Year's resolutions.

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Sticking With Your Goals into the New Year
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You can do this. You can absolutely do this, even if it feels hard and even if you feel like you can't stick with it.  The trick is getting to the point that the new practice or routine becomes a habit - and you just have to stick with it long enough to get to that point.

• Break your goals into manageable steps. Sometimes we can get off track simply because we try to attain our resolutions all at once. If your goal is to work out every morning before work, maybe you start out with upping your workouts from one a week to three before you go to five days a week.  When you break down your resolution into parts that can be attained sustainably, you are much more likely to be able to keep your resolutions in the long run.
  

• Remember that even a little progress is progress. If you have a resolution to drink six big water bottles worth of water a day and you only manage four, have you failed? Of course not!  If you were drinking three before your resolution and you made it to four, that is something to celebrate. Progress is progress and if you regard it as such you will be far more motivated to continue in the pursuit of your goals.
  

• Realize that one misstep does not ruin your goals. If you're trying to cut out sugar to the point of only having it once a week - and then you find yourself eating a cookie on a day you resolved to consume no sugar. Does that mean that your resolution is completely ruined and you might as well give up? Obviously not. Everyone makes mistakes, that is just part of being human - and it should not keep you away from getting right back on track to accomplishing your goal.
  

• Don’t be hard on yourself. Don’t disregard this as a platitude - this is an incredibly important part of having long-term success.  If you beat yourself up emotionally any time you don't reach the standard you're aiming for, you are not only demoralizing yourself - you are disregarding the fact that you, by simply trying, have gotten closer to your goal.
  

• Track your progress as you go.  Record your progress in a way that works for you - whether that means writing it down in a journal or in a doc on your phone, make sure that you do not lose track of how far you have come from your starting point. If you focus on how far you still have to go you can be discouraged. On the flipside, if you look back and see how far you've come, you can be encouraged to go all the way.
  

Making 2021 the Best Year It Can Be
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No one can know what a year will bring, both in the world at large and in your own personal life, but you can be certain that you put your best foot forward and strive to be the best person you can be. Your goals are worth attaining, so go out there and reach for that high bar. Believe in yourself. You have done amazing things, and you will continue to do so as long as you press forward. Here at Cobos Insurance, we encourage you to accomplish the resolutions you set for yourself in this fresh new year...and remember to enjoy the little victories. 

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