Every new year, people decide to traditionally set a number of personal goals to complete within the next 12 months. These promises typically include creating better eating habits, to be more positive or spend less money. The new year gives all individuals the chance to have a fresh start. I personally feel that setting goals helps you get into a healthier mindset in hopes of sticking with your goal.

When getting in the routine of meeting your resolution, the key factor is discipline. If someone truly commits to meeting their goals they will push themselves to get there. On average, it takes 21 days to form a healthy habit, which is less than one month. Even just simply challenging  yourself to make a change can tremendously better one’s life.

It is more to complete a lower amount of goals that you are passionate about instead of overwhelming yourself with a large number of resolutions that don’t have much of a chance to be completed.  It will cause you to feel overwhelmed and make it difficult to follow through with any of them, which is why some people feel resolutions do not work. 

Rewarding yourself is also an important factor when staying motivated to complete your yearly resolutions. After 21 days of sticking with your goals, reward yourself with a nice meal, a new pair of workout leggings or the new purse you have been wanting. Even small things that make you happy and keep you on the right track towards completing set goals can help you follow through with creating new habits. It isn’t necessary to go on a shopping spree every month that you succeed, but there is no reason to push yourself throughout the process without some kind of reward.

While constant goal setting works for some people, starting out with a few specific ones each year works best for others. It is the idea of a fresh start in a new year that motivates people to improve their lives. If it takes a holiday like the New Year to urge people to make a life change, then  there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of the opportunity. At the end of the year, someone can reflect on the resolution they started out with and see their personal improvement. Some may find this process the easiest to follow as they stick to a couple goals to focus on over a long period of time instead of constantly setting new goals for themselves periodically throughout the year. Long term goals that are reached can often be easier for people to recognize when they reflect. 

Resolutions have worked for me in the past, and I believe they can work for anyone who is determined to improve. For example, I stopped drinking soda on the first of January last year. Many believe that caffeine and energy drinks help them stay awake, but in my case caffeine made me feel sick and unpleasant. I have not drank soda since and I feel much better now that I have cut that unhealthy drink out of my life. 

Seeing long-term results makes people feel more motivated at the end of the year when they begin to set new goals to focus on that year. The old resolutions are now simply part of how that person lives their life. The original goals are now completely adapted into their lifestyle, which means time to set new goals and repeat the rewarding process.