3 ways to master 'new year, new mindset'
Each new year brings many things to the forefront of our minds, most significantly what we believe is missing and what we want to achieve in the next 12 months. With New Year’s resolutions, it's all about finding a goal and sticking to it, though most of us abandon our resolutions quite early on and keep them in a drawer in our minds until the next New Year is upon us.
The cycle goes on and on, so how can we make real change in our lives in this new year? The way to achieve your goals and change what you want to for real is to adopt a new mindset, not a resolution. You want to create long lasting changes that you can use in your everyday life, right? With resolutions, your mindset is that you are fixing a problem instead of viewing this goal as something to incorporate into daily life.
It doesn’t have to be ‘new year new me’
We put a lot of pressure on ourselves with each new year to be ‘the best version’ of ourselves, as if we hadn’t been able to do that until January. While it’s an opportunity to reflect on our current situation and look at what’s missing, changing your mindset to finding what needs growth and nourishment is a healthier, more manageable way to achieve your goals.
If each year you’ve focused on weight loss as a resolution, and have fallen off the dieting wagon every time, it can be because you focus more on failure and punishing yourself that you inevitably say “I failed, there’s no point in trying again”.
This way of thinking will not help you when you really want to achieve something; instead, you need to meet yourself with kindness and forgiveness. Allow yourself permission to get back in the saddle and say “let’s try again” and not punish yourself when you don't see immediate results.
How to kickstart your mindset
We often tell ourselves resolutions in our heads, but very few people will write them down and explicitly detail what they want to achieve for the year ahead. Rather than saying “I want to save money”, you can write down specifically what you want to achieve from this goal, such as “Saving money will help me save toward my dream home”.
Once you’ve got your goals for the year written down, write alongside them how you can actively contribute to them in your everyday life. By making steps towards your goals part of a habit, you’re more likely to see them through – rather than continuing to view them as a pipe dream and never even trying to begin with. Adding small things to a routine, like making a habit of putting away 50 dollars a week into a savings account, can help you achieve your goal in the long term.
It takes around 3 weeks to make a habit permanent, so you need to knuckle down for the first 21 days of your goal in order to kickstart your mindset and view your resolutions in a new light. Use motivational tools to help you keep on track, such as daily reminders on your phone that you can’t ignore, or setting up sticky notes around your office to help you keep your goal at the forefront of your mind.
Keeping new habits over the year
There are always going to be times where your steps towards a goal aren’t as big or helpful as they were months ago, and that’s okay. The way to keep a habit long term is to not be so hard on yourself; when we punish ourselves for not living up to expectations, we are more likely to quit the cause altogether. Weeks or months can go by without you making much headway toward a goal, but it doesn’t mean it’s over.
Tell yourself that progress is still progress, and you didn’t come this far only to come this far. You can get back into your habits through daily routine, but it can also be helpful to share your goals with trusted friends and family. There may even be someone who has a similar goal to you, and you can keep each other accountable and motivated along the way – making it a fun experience and creating a bond between you and a loved one.
Final thoughts
By getting this far in this article, you’re already halfway to knowing what you want and how to achieve it. You’ve allowed yourself to say yes to new beginnings, experiences and way of life. You’re ready to get into your new mindset this year and make it your best one yet – all you have to do is believe in yourself, show yourself some kindness, and create everyday habits that contribute to your long term goals.