You made it through January; did your resolutions?

I love New Year’s Resolutions. I can’t help it. I’m that person.

But here we are: it felt like January was 42-days-long, and though it seemed never-ending: it’s already in our rearview mirror.  For many of us, the enthusiasm for New Year’s Resolutions has either worn off completely or is dying a slow death.

You’re not alone. No longer fueled by motivation, optimism (and perhaps holidays treats,) the only thing worse than feeling guilty about ‘messing up’ your resolutions, is watching yourself slip back into old habits.

What if it could be different?

Manifesting vs. Setting Goals

In my experience, it’s not super likely that you’ll stick with your resolutions if you passively ‘manifest’ or vision board them with the hope that this’ll become your reality as if bippity-boppity-boo-ed into your life by a fairy godmother. (Granted, I wouldn’t turn down a fairy godmother.) Vision boards can be great visual representations of what you want in life. But the key ingredient that’s often missing from ‘manifesting’ (as it’s meant these days) is the active role of goal-planning your resolutions.

New Year’s Resolutions are a great excuse to evaluate how things are going and make concrete plans (dare I say, goals?) for what you want to focus on during the next 12 months.

The key to maintaining your resolutions is to set SMART goals. You’ve probably heard this acronym before: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This framework helps move away from vague ideas like, "get fit" or general resolutions like, "be more productive" and instead sets clear, actionable steps. Instead of "lose weight," a SMART goal might be "lose 5 pounds in 3 months by exercising 3 times a week and tracking food intake." This SMART goal gives direction and makes it easier to track progress, which then helps you stay motivated.

When you don’t feeeeel like it:
Motivation vs. Discipline

Motivation is often the initial spark that drives us to start a new habit (like that jazzy feeling you might get whilst coming up with your resolutions in late December). When you’re motivated, you’ll feel like going full tilt! Sadly: this feeling (like all feelings), is temporary and when that rush of motivation fades, you’ll need more than a feeling to keep you going.

Enter: discipline. If they were siblings, motivation would be the “Let’s go on a trip!” fist-pumping, joie de vivre sister, whereas discipline would be the: “I’m going to start saving, look for deals, and book my flight by the end of the month” no-nonsense sister (who probably uses an agenda). Discipline might not be as flashy, but it’s what carries you through when motivation is waning. Discipline is the ability to stick to your goals even when you don't feeeeel like it. And we all know: there will be days when you just don’t feel like it.

Much like vision boards and manifestations, motivation can be great: it’s just not enough. You’ll also need to build discipline through consistent effort.

How, you ask?

Building Habits

When the novelty wears off for your resolutions, you’ll need systems to help you stay on track and keep your New Year’s Resolutions Goals in check.

Maintaining your resolutions, or any goals, means building lasting habits. But forming them can be challenging. Research suggests that it takes about 21 days to form a habit, but the real effort lies in making that habit stick.

Surviving Those 21 Days (and Beyond!)

TIP 1: Habit Stacking: pair your new goal with something you already do automatically. For example, is your goal to drink more water? Already a caffeine fiend? Habit stack by drinking a glass right after your morning coffee. This’ll help your new goal feel like a natural part of your routine.

TIP 2: Temptation Bundling: link your new goal with something you enjoy. For example: is your goal to spend more quality time with your treadmill? Already hooked on the latest Netflix show? Bundle them by allowing yourself to tune-in to your favourite show when you’re on the treadmill.

TIP 3: Track it. You’ve heard “Pics or it didn’t happen!”. Well: track it or it (probably really) didn’t happen. Tracking keeps you accountable, acts as a visual reminder, and takes the guesswork out – no more relying on your memory: did you actually read 12 books this year, or was it 9? And no more relying on your feelings about it: did you feel like you did a better job keeping in touch with loved ones, or did you actually keep in touch every Sunday?

Tracking can be done in all sorts of ways, and the more you see your progress, the more motivated you’ll be to continue.

Keep a journal, try an app, enlist an accountability buddy, heck: keep a record jotted on a scrap piece of paper in your sock drawer where you’ll see it: every. single. day.

It doesn’t need to be fancy. Some clients recently shared apps they’ve enjoyed like Finch or Grit but there are oodles of (free) options.

TIP 4: Be Kind to Yourself: staying on track can be a delicate balance between accountability and compassion. When life inevitably throws a curveball, practise non-judgmentally accepting that you had a ‘slip’ and then recalibrate. Feeling under the weather? Take some time off from the treadmill; then hop back on when you’re feeling 100%. Forgot to drink you water with your coffee? No worries: back on the horse tomorrow or pour yourself a glass now. Ran out of time to make that Sunday phone call? You’ll get another Sunday in a few short days. Life happens. Keeping your resolutions isn’t about perfection, it’s about progress.

Want Help?

For some, building habits and coming up with meaningful changes they want to make can be achieved by brainstorming on the couch or chatting with friends. But if you’re feeling stuck about what truly matters to you, or how to develop your own meaningful SMART goals, sometimes therapy can be a great way to drill down to what your values are, how to set up your goals, and help maintain accountability. And guess what: we don’t care that it’s not January 1st!

Make 2025 your year: manifest, vision board, then plan the heck out of how to make it happen!

Dr. Jenn

Registered Clinical Psychologist, Ph.D., (and Goal Tracking Queen)

Red Chair Psychology

217-35 Bloom Lane, Bedford Nova Scotia

902-517-1057 |  admin@RedChairPsychology.com