The Trick To Making Your New Year's Resolutions Stick

2016 is plugging along nicely. How are your New Year's resolutions holding up?

My New Year’s resolution has always been the same every year and that is to get fit, no matter the cost. I’ve tried everything from joining the gym to hiring a personal trainer, as well as going on crazy diets to the point of nearly starving myself, but all to no avail. I was still the same fat person every single year, growing fatter and fatter as each day passes.

This got me thinking: Do New Year’s resolutions ever really work out in the end? Why don’t we ever stick to them? Is it possible to ever accomplish the goal that you’ve set for yourself at the beginning of the year?

Too often I see people disappointed with the way their year had turned out because they failed to meet the expectations they had set for themselves. After realising they had failed to achieve those expectations, they would adopt the “I don’t care” or “YOLO” approach and go back to their old habits, planning to try that same resolution again the following year.

I, for example, would realise that after months of following a “celebrity guaranteed” diet, I saw no difference in my weight and would go back to binge-eating chocolates. The only exercise I ever did was going on Maccas runs… in my car.

It wasn’t until around 2013 I finally realised what I could do to make sure I could tick off the list of resolutions I’ve made and scream “I DID IT” with pride.

You should make a list of resolutions that you know you will achieve. There’s a difference between hoping and knowing whether or not you will achieve that resolution. If your resolution was to become a billionaire in a year, obviously, that is not something achievable (unless you won the lottery or you are a couple of dollars short of becoming a billionaire already – good for you).

However, reasonable resolutions such as being more positive or taking on more opportunities are achievable. They may not seem like much but you will feel much better knowing that you can accomplish it and mentally draw a big fat tick across the list of resolutions you've made in your head.

Some small resolutions I've made these past few years include making my bed every single morning, completing my homework every single night and going outside more often. These were things I used to struggle with years ago but they've now become habits of mine just by initially making them my New Year’s resolutions and forcing myself to stick to them.

However, not all “big” resolutions are impossible to achieve. They can be possible, if time consuming. The amount of time depends on how big that resolution is. An example could be to “travel around the world.” That is an achievable resolution, but may take years of small little resolutions to build up the possibility of finally being able to travel the world.

So set yourself a good time frame. For example, your New Year’s resolution could be to save up enough money to finally be able to travel by the year 2030. In the years leading up to 2030, your small resolutions could include “saving more of my earnings” or “doing more housework to earn allowance from parents.”

By 2030, you will finally have enough money saved up for your big trip. You would also have a bigger sense of pride knowing that you've worked extremely hard in the previous years to finally be able to accomplish your most important New Year’s resolution.

Another key thing to keep in mind about resolutions is to make sure that you are doing what you like, love or are passionate about. If your resolution is to be more positive towards other people when you clearly dislike 99 per cent of humanity (me), that is obviously something very hard to achieve.

After a couple of years making small resolutions, I decided that it was time for me take on the challenge of trying to get fit again. As much as I dislike exercise, I am a fan of martial arts. I used to do martial arts when I was a young kid and I thought signing up for martial arts to use as a form of exercise would be a great way to see those numbers on the scale decrease. And surely enough, they did.

I had signed up for taekwondo at the beginning of 2015 and sessions go for a duration of an hour (sometimes more) twice a week. After a whole year of going for classes, I've lost a total of 12kgs. I definitely felt happier that I saw a massive change and had accomplished the daunting resolution that I once had thought was impossible to achieve. I plan to continue with taekwondo as I really do enjoy the challenge and plan on losing another 18kgs.

So there you have it. You now know how to make smart New Year’s resolutions and know you are able to accomplish them one day. Feel free to share this information with your friends and family to stop the senseless torture of chocolate deprivation in order to look like goddess Beyoncé, or you can always keep this information to yourself and brag about how you’re the only one who is ever able to complete your list of resolutions (this seems more like a “me” option).

Congratulations to Zulaikha for winning this writing challenge, answering: The New Year's Resolutions That Never Really Happen. Zulaikha wins a $50 Westfield gift card for her submission. For your chance to win, check out our latest writing challenges in our Comps section. Also, be sure to follow this guide on how to win the writing challenge!