Creating Sustainable and Attainable New Year’s Resolutions

It’s finally 2025, which means that you’ve probably just created a long list of goals for yourself to achieve. Creating New Year’s resolutions is a great way to motivate yourself and gain the confidence to succeed. However, sometimes these goals can be daunting and unattainable, creating more stress and causing guilt for falling back to old habits. To prevent this from happening, here are a couple of precautions that I would recommend taking.

1. If you’ve created an overambitious list of five or more goals for the years, try cutting it back to between three or four.

2. Avoid choosing a goal that you’ve already attempted. If you try to take on the same thing for another year, you could find yourself falling into old habits from previously failed attempts.

3. Make sure your resolutions are specific and can be measured. For example, instead of saying “I want to go to the gym more often,” try “I want to go to the gym three times a week.

4. If your goal is something lofty or difficult to achieve, break it down into smaller steps and create a list of what you can do to bring you to your ultimate goal.

5. Find other people to lean on for support as you try to reach your goals. Whether it be a parent, friend, or partner, having another person on your team can keep you motivated and accountable.

6. Be kind to yourself. If you are struggling to see productive changes in your life, remind yourself that change is difficult. Studies have shown that it can take up to 66 days to create a habit, so be patient and stay consistent.