The new year and making new goals go hand-in-hand for a lot of us. However, I feel like most of the time I hear about New Year's resolutions, it's usually about how no one sticks to them for that long. People want to make drastic changes to their lives in the new year, but it's not always realistic.
When the new year rolls around, I like to think of some things I'd like to achieve in that year. Things such as, I want to grow my savings by x amount, I want to be more diligent with my studies, I want to continue to invest and grow in my friendships and relationship. When I go about setting my goals this way, I find the year ahead feels less daunting than if I had set myself strict, less-achievable goals.
For example, if you decide to set yourself a goal of going to the gym every single day, you'll probably find that you stop going after a while, and even start to hate going to the gym. Instead, you should try going to the gym 2-3 times a week, and slowly work your way up to going more often. You may find the gym more enjoyable, and that it's easier to maintain your goal.
This year for myself, I've decided to make my health more of a priority, but my specific goal is that I want to be more conscious of my health. Being honest with myself, this will probably look like following a 30-minute YouTube workout every now and then, and incorporating healthier foods into my diet. I will try to do better than that, but I know for sure that I'm going to enjoy it a lot more than if I forced myself to workout every single day and only eat fruits and vegetables.
I know there are times in life when we need to set ourselves strict and serious goals. But, when deciding what we want to achieve in the new year, I think it's important to choose goals that we know are achievable and maintainable. Achieving goals doesn't always have to feel like a chore. It can be fun, and we should remember to enjoy ourselves along the way. So, happy New Year! Let's bring on 2024.
