StayWell Guam Inc.

The year 2021 saw a great many ups and downs, all while living through year two of a global pandemic. Perhaps in between the intermittent public health emergency lockdowns, travel advisories, and anxiety filled trips to the now risky grocery store, you’ve had a chance to settle in on some new year resolutions for 2022. If you’re one of many who start resolutions but find them fizzle throughout the year, we’ve come up with some great tips to help you make and keep your resolutions so that you can reach new, healthy limits in life.

Be Realistic

When crafting your new year resolutions, it’s important to understand your limits and to be realistic about what you can achieve. Don’t set yourself up for failure by making your goal unattainable. Setting goals that are too out of reach can easily diminish any progress you’ve made, and can often send you in reverse especially if you’re the type that struggles with staying motivated. If this happens to you, it may be a good time to gain a new view on goals and learn how to celebrate and focus on smaller victories which build up to major triumphs. This is a sure-fire way to get and stay on track toward achieving your goals.

Plan Ahead

Your new year resolutions shouldn’t be something you think of on the fly. Don’t let your fleeting mindset on New Year’s Eve be the driving force behind your 2022 goals. Plan ahead to determine what you really want for yourself in the coming year. It wouldn’t hurt to do a bit of research to help identify the most effective ways to reach your goal. You are not likely to be the only person who has embarked on the journey toward achieving your particular goal and taking outside input and advice can help bring you new heights.

Outline Your Plan

Make a game plan for your resolutions and include solutions to issues or temptations you anticipate you’ll encounter along the way. Identify valuable resources such as calling on a friend for help, or institute positive thinking and self-talk exercises that will help you stay motivated. By outlining how you intend to reach your goals and how you wish to take action to certain obstacles, you can help reduce the likelihood of falling off the band wagon along the way.

Make a Pros and Cons List

Weighing out the pros and cons and listing them on paper can help keep your motivation strong. Remember, sometimes our greatest obstacle toward achieving our goals is ourselves. Face your mental struggle head on by creating a visible and tangible list that will remind you of why you made your resolutions in the first place. This can help you keep your sight focused on the end goal which can often get lost along the way.

Talk About It

Don’t keep your resolutions a secret as you may share the same goal with some of your family, friends, or colleagues. Sharing your resolutions with those closest to you will let them know that you are working toward changing yourself and may also cause them to be more mindful of when they are enabling you to engage in behavior that will pull you farther away from your goal. More importantly, having a strong support system can be key in helping you make the life changes necessary to achieve your new year resolutions.

Reward Yourself

Don’t forget to celebrate the little victories along the way. Make sure to give yourself a pat on the back for each and every little success, as these successes amount to major triumphs. It’s important to be careful with how you reward yourself. Be sure not to reward yourself by doing anything that contradicts your resolution or encourages behaviors that will get you off track from attaining your goal.

Track Your Progress

Establishing short-term goals can make it easier to keep on track toward achieving your resolutions. Each small accomplishment will help keep you motivated and also allows you to more easily see the progress you’ve made along the way which can often be overlooked if you don’t have interim goals set. Keeping track of your success along the way is the best way to build and keep a positive outlook as you make your way to the end goal.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

Occasionally slipping or falling off the bandwagon is bound to happen, however what’s important is how you get back to where you need to be. Do the best you can each day, and remember to take it one day at a time. One occasional slip up is no reason to throw away all the progress you’ve made.

Stick to It

Experts say it takes about 21 days for a new activity to become a habit and six months for it to become part of your personality. Change doesn’t happen overnight, so it’s important to be persistent and patient. Consistency is key especially when making major life changes, and it will ultimately help you become a better, healthier you.

Keep Trying

If you experience burn out, don’t despair and just start again! Recommit to your resolutions and try again for at least 24 hours. There are no limits when it comes to trying again, so long as you never give up you will surely reach your goals and eventually experience a new and better you!