January 1 is always a day of grand proclamations of health, fitness, self-care, meditation, and visions of the upcoming year. Many people wake up with aspirations of becoming a new and improved person, but this instant switch can cause anxiety around keeping the resolutions perfect. Setting goals that are unachievable lead to falling short of expectations and eventually giving up entirely. We, as a society have come up with the conclusion that goals are “all or nothing”. It’s time to change our perspective and adopt the mindset of consistency over perfection. 

I woke up with the lofty goal of setting my phone aside for the first 30 minutes after waking up. For me I knew this would be a daunting challenge especially on the weekends. A few years ago I might have given up entirely when on January 2 I found myself scrolling on tik tok ten minutes after getting out of bed, but I had to start somewhere and this year I ditched the mindset of having the goals perfected the day after I made them.

When making New Year’s resolutions it’s important to remember January 1st does not have to be a scary new beginning, in reality it’s like every other day, and everyday brings new chances to challenge ourselves and become the healthiest we can be, both mentally and physically.

Here are a few tips to stick to your resolutions without the stress…

1. Set goals that are realistic, measurable, and focus on adding things to improve your life: focus on things that can be accomplished within the year and benefit your life rather than making it restricted.
2. Do not be too hard on yourself: you might slip up but it is never too late to restart.
3. Stick to them for at least a month: Give yourself the benefit of the doubt, you can stick to resolutions but habits take time to form.

Any day has the potential to be January 1, so do not be ashamed if you start a resolution tomorrow, next week, or even next month, the important thing is to follow through for best results.

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