Five tips to help you set yourself up for success in 2022
As the New Year approaches, the topic of resolutions is bound to come up in conversations with friends and family. However, while the tradition of setting goals for yourself for the New Year can be fun and exciting, it can also be daunting for those–like me!–who struggle to actually accomplish them.
If you’re an ambitious person, you can probably relate when I say that I have a love-hate relationship with setting goals for myself. On the one hand, having goals keeps me excited for the future and gives me something to work towards. Yet on the other hand, it can also expose feelings of failure and inadequacy when I find myself unable to live up to my own expectations.
After years of dealing with self-inflicted blows to my confidence and self-esteem, I finally had enough. So, somewhat paradoxically, I made it my goal to get better at setting goals.
And I succeeded. Through trial and error, I’ve learned these tricks to help reduce the stress that comes with setting and sticking to resolutions. I hope that you find them as helpful as I do.
Start small
When we think of New Year’s resolutions, many of us think of goals such as getting fit, leading a more healthy lifestyle, and saving money. However, these goals are so broad that when it comes time to pursue them, it can be difficult to figure out what you actually need to do and where you should start.
One way to get around this is by breaking broad goals down into smaller, more manageable chunks. For example, instead of vowing to get healthy, make it your goal to eat one extra serving of vegetables every day—pretty easy, right? Once you accomplish that, you can move on to a new goal, such as cutting out one unhealthy food that you regularly eat, and so on.
Small tasks are easy to complete, and when you finish one, the feeling of accomplishment will encourage you to pursue another. Before you know it, you’ll be well on your way to a healthier lifestyle, or whatever other broad goal you originally set for yourself.
Do something fun
Many common New Year’s resolutions require you to develop more personal discipline—for example, changing your diet or quitting nicotine. However, as rewarding as it can be, developing personal discipline is also extremely difficult. So when you’re setting your goals for the New Year, make sure that you balance tougher goals with resolutions that are a little more fun and lighthearted.
In Western culture, we tend to think of self-improvement as being synonymous with work. But life is about more than just the grind; it’s important to set aside time to foster your playful and creative sides.
Think of some activities that you enjoy but don’t often get to partake in, and make it your goal to do those things more frequently.
Setting goals that excite you will give you something to look forward to throughout the year. Plus, since they’re easy and fun to accomplish, you’ll get to enjoy the confidence boost that comes with checking these goals off of your list… Even if they just revolve around finishing the latest season of One Piece or logging more hours on Minecraft.
Buddy up
Everything is more fun with a friend! If you know another person who wants to pursue the same goal as you, ask them if they want to work together. Most of the time, you’ll find that the answer is yes!
Whether you decide to actually do goal-related activities together, or to simply check up on each other every few weeks to make sure that the other person is staying on track, you’ll find that it’s much easier to keep focused when another person is involved.
If you find yourself struggling with a goal, having a buddy who understands what you’re going through and that you can lean on for support can make a world of difference. And when you succeed, you’ll have someone to celebrate your victories with.
Write it down
Write everything down!
That includes your goals, the steps that you need to take to achieve them, timelines, your progress, and any roadblocks that you run into along the way.
Writing out step-by-step instructions and timelines for yourself will help you stick to your goals by providing a sense of structure. These instructions don’t have to be rigid, but you should at least have a general sense of what you’re going to do and when. Don’t let yourself push things off indefinitely—either stick to your plan or re-evaluate whether your goal is realistic and achievable for you.
Moreover, keeping track of the issues that you encounter during the process will help you avoid challenging situations in the future. For example, if you resolved to quit nicotine but had a hard time saying no when offered a cigarette at a get-together, making a note to avoid outdoor spaces at parties for a few months will help you avoid the temptation going forward.
Perhaps most importantly though, keeping a written record of your self-improvement journey will help you recognize the progress that you’ve made. It can be easy to let failures and negative experiences overshadow your victories, so be sure to make a note every time you succeed. You’ll be able to look back on how far you’ve come with pride—and rightfully so!
Go easy on yourself
The final and most important tip that I have for you is to be kind to yourself when you’re unable to meet a goal.
You’re inevitably going to slip up at some point, and that’s okay—it happens to everyone. When you do fall off the wagon, try not to get angry with yourself. Instead, take a step back and figure out how to get yourself on track again. Readjust your plans and keep moving forward.
Remember, you are your own harshest critic. Even though it may not always feel like it, everyone else is cheering you on.
A version of this article appeared in print in The Ontarion issue 192.1 on Jan. 4, 2022.
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