How to (Actually) Achieve Your New Year's Resolution 2022

The start of a new year is the best time to start something new. Why? Because everyone’s doing it! Did you know that more people set goals and targets at the beginning of the year than any other time? People view the new year as a new slate. It’s time to realign yourself with your goals and start setting targets and resolutions to achieve them.

 

Why you should set a new year’s resolution this year

 

After the long holiday period, many of us can relate to feeling quite sluggish. You’ve probably eaten and drank too much and moved too little. It’s been a great time and you shouldn’t have any regrets. But as you move into a new year it’s helpful to remember how your body physically feels after the holiday period and use it as motivation to get healthier.

 

Your body isn’t thriving when you’re not taking care of it, despite how much fun you may have had. To thrive mentally and physically you’ve got to ensure you’re eating healthy, exercising, limiting alcohol and getting enough rest. Let’s make January your healthiest month, see how good you can feel.

 

The new year brings about new opportunities and a fresh start. The new year just feels new: new energy, new prospects, a new mindset. So embrace the newness, decide what you want to do and who you want to be and set out to do it.

 

Don’t most new year’s resolutions fail?

 

We mentioned that more people set goals and targets at the beginning of the year than any other time. Nearly half of all Americans set at least one new year's resolution each year. Unfortunately despite this good intention, only 8 percent accomplish their resolution, according to Forbes and a whopping 80 percent of resolutions fail by the second week of February.

 

So does that mean new year’s resolutions are inherently bound to fail? No! The truth is, if you’re not prepared to put in the hard work and change your life, you won’t be able to achieve the goal.

 

Here are some common reasons why new year’s resolutions fail:

 

• Setting unrealistic goals - How many goals are you setting? How reasonable are they? Is it even possible to achieve this goal in the time frame required?
  
  
• Inadequate preparation - If you want to achieve something different, you’ve got to act differently. The same behavior doesn’t bring about new results. That means whatever your goal, you have to get prepared to change your daily habits and routines to bring about what you are envisioning.
  
  
• Lack of motivation - How bad do you want this? Are you willing to change your life? Are you willing to put in the work, even when it’s not fun? It’s important to pin down a ‘why’ and use this as motivation.
  
  
• Lack of self-belief - If you don’t truly believe the goal is attainable for you, it’s likely that you’ll never achieve it. Tell yourself you’ve got this!
  
  
• Too many temptations - Are your friends a bad influence on you? If you want to make a big change in your life, you need to minimize your exposure to temptations and distractions. That might mean cutting out some people or limiting yourself to certain activities if they are triggers for you.

 

What are the most common new year’s resolutions?

 

Amongst the Americans that set new year’s resolutions, 71 percent make a resolution to diet or eat healthier, 65 percent want to exercise more and 54 percent want to lose weight, according to a survey.

 

How to stick to your new year’s resolutions

 

So in terms of these statistics, how can you stick to your new year’s resolution?

 

1. Get a gym membership

If your resolution is related to improving your health and you don’t have a gym membership, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Assuming you’re going to go for a run outside on a freezing January morning at 6am every day is unrealistic, particularly if you’re just starting out on your health and fitness journey.

 

So rather than making it harder for yourself, join a reasonably priced gym, check out the classes and see what you enjoy doing. It will make improving your health easier and more enjoyable.

 

2. Remind yourself of them daily

Are you the type of person that sets goals but then forgets about what the goals even were? If this is the reason you’re slipping up and failing to achieve your goals, try writing them out and sticking them somewhere that you see throughout the day like your fridge or on your mirror. Reminding yourself of your goals will help you to align your daily actions and habits.

 

3. Make SMART goals

SMART goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time based. When you’re setting goals go through this list and ensure that you’re fully understanding the goal before you set it, which leads us onto our next point.

 

Check out this article we wrote about setting SMART goals.

 

4. Be realistic

If you’ve never exercised a day in your life, don’t make your first new year’s resolution to be ‘go to the gym for two hours everyday’. You may be able to do it, but for the majority of people, this is unrealistic and far-fetched.

 

This isn’t to say you can’t do it, but it’s to say that setting unattainable goals will make you feel like they’re impossible to reach and you’ll lose motivation. Treat your goals like stepping stones to the next, start with ‘I want to work out twice this week’ and then three times, four times and then ‘I want to work out four times a week for an entire month’. You get the drift?

 

5. Get prepared

Whether your goal is to eat healthier or workout more, WOLFpak is here to help you achieve that. We’ve got meal management backpacks for all your meal prep needs, and gym backpacks to help you prepare for your new-found workout routine. Let us do the hard work for you!

 

If you want 2022 to be the year that you actually stick to your new year’s resolution and don’t just become another statistic, follow these steps when setting your goals and you’ll be closer to achieving them. Remember: you’ve got this!

 

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