January 2nd. The day after New Year's Day. Now what? For most people, it means going back to the old grind, kids going back to school, or mothers trying to coral their kids back into a homeschool routine. People are going back to work. The mess from the last 2 weeks is getting packed up and cleaned up. Already, many of those resolutions we were so excited about yesterday may be fading away.
Life must go on, so how do we stay on track with the goals we've made for ourselves? This is why I dislike the word "resolutions." When I make a resolution for a new year, I feel like I have to go all in right away. Then, if I don't bring that resolution to completion by the end of the year, I feel like a failure. I find that trying to make huge changes in order to make sure a resolution is brought to fruition, is just setting myself up for failure.
Baby Steps
Taking baby steps, as small as you need, to work toward a goal is a much better long-term solution. Let's say one of your resolutions is to lose weight and get healthy. You excitedly go out and buy a bunch of strange-to-you ingredients the very first day and drink shakes every morning that make you have to hold your nose...well, that's not very realistic. Then, tack on the resolve to go to the gym and work out for an hour every day 6 days a week. Can you say "Crash and burn?" A more sustainable approach would be to maybe make sure you track everything you eat, and drink more water the first week. Baby steps! Once you get that down, maybe you feel ready to cut out soda. Don't add another baby step until you're confident in the one you're on.
Make a List
I am a person who loves making lists. Now, keep in mind that I'm not telling you to make a huge list of all your resolutions. That can be overwhelming! Pick one or two goals to work on. Put each goal at the top of a piece of paper. You don't have to make it fancy. But, if that's your thing and you know it will motivate you, go for it! Under the goal, list out every single little baby step that you foresee needing to do to accomplish that goal. Don't worry about how long you think this will take. Moving forward is moving forward. No need to put extra pressure on yourself by setting a deadline!
Track Your Progress
After your list is made, make sure you always keep it where you can see it. Then, you can often look at your current baby step and make sure you're working that into each day, whatever that looks like. When you have conquered that baby step and made it into a habit, that's exciting progress! Cross it off, check it off, give yourself a gold star. Have a mini celebration! Afterwards, look at the next baby step and get excited to get started on it! You are forming sustainable habits, rather than the crash-and-burn mentality that will make you forget about your resolutions. Until next year, that is. Feel good about the progress you are making, no matter how small.
No matter what goals you have for this year, it's important, first, to make sure you have a plan. Then, take a little time in the beginning to make a list of baby steps. Lastly, make sure you're working a little bit each day toward that goal. If it starts to feel overwhelming, you may need to cut back and make those steps even smaller. And that's okay. Forward is forward.
I hope this post motivated you to work toward your goals in a realistic way. I am by no means an expert. In fact, I am writing this to myself as much as all of you. But hopefully, I gave you some ideas. Thank you so much for reading!
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