With 2020 now fully underway, those of you who decided to better themselves in the new year may already be feeling the strain. Perhaps you pledged to go to the gym three times a week, or finally quit smoking, or to take up more creative and fulfilling hobbies. If your commitment to your own New Year’s Resolution is starting to feel shaky, you’re not alone.
Research from Forbes.com has shown that a mere 8% of people actually make good on their New Year’s Resolution in the long run. However, those numbers shouldn’t put you off. Anyone can stick to their resolutions as long as they know the tricks for success. Here’s how to ensure you become a better version of yourself in 2020.
1. Be Kind with Yourself
The first trick to succeeding with your resolutions is to be patient and never beat yourself up for moments of weakness. It’s all too easy to feel like a failure because you reached for that hamburger or had a sneaky cigarette when no one was looking, but this kind of thinking will only serve to send you into a spiral of self-doubt that will make you much more likely to be a friend. Accepting failure is the key to long-term success.
2. Replace Rather Than Going Cold Turkey
If your resolution is to quit a toxic lifestyle habit such as smoking or excessive drinking, you may be more likely to succeed if you don’t pivot straight to cold turkey. Instead, look for a replacement for your habit that will enable you to adjust to your new routine. If you’re trying to quit your smoking habit, try swapping out the cigs for some tobacco-free snus, available at TaxFreeSnus.com. If you’re trying to eat better, replace your Big Mac with veggie burgers or healthy burritos. It’s all about adjustment.
3. Change Your Environment
When you’re trying to make positive lifestyle changes, one of the most effective things you can do is change up your environment. A wide-ranging study conducted by ScienceDaily.com found that, of people who pledge to make a positive change, those who had recently moved house or taken up a new job were much, much more likely to stick to it. While moving home might be a little drastic for some people, you can always try things such as hanging out in a new place with your friends or even taking a different route to work. Change begets change.
4. Sleep More
As you may already be aware, tired minds and bodies are more likely to succumb to temptation. According to UniversityofCalifornia.edu, people who are well-rested, meaning at least seven hours of sleep per evening, report much higher levels of healthy living and day-to-day motivation. That means that the key to making good on your 2020 resolutions may be to cut out the caffeine and start turning in for an early night. Since lots of sleep is also linked to emotional wellbeing and increased life expectancy, the benefits are numerous.
With these simple tricks, you stand a solid chance of sticking to your resolutions and becoming exactly the person that you want to be in 2020.
