I am not a huge fan of New Year’s Resolutions. Personally, I find the whole idea of ending a year as one person and hoping to start the following 24 hours as a new version of myself with new habits and a whole new outlook on life, a bit much. It just feels very idealistic and is certainly asking a lot of ourselves, when we have a lot on our plate already.

Having said that, what I am a huge believer in is in creating good, healthy sustainable habits which can become part of who you are and through good planning, focus and drive, can be enhanced over time. This is something which can be done anytime of the year – so the pressure is off January.

The trick is identifying what you are looking to achieve and why, and then slowly developing habits and sticking to them because they enrich your life and support your overall progression.

In order for these habits to be healthy, manageable and, critically, achievable – here is some helpful guidance:

  1. Be aware that how you speak to yourself / your internal voice is one of the most important factors in achieving your goal of establishing a new healthy habit. Positive self-talk, internal encouragement, self-motivation to push through setbacks and switching off any negativity will be vital to your success.
  2. Have a plan – you are more likely to follow something if you have taken personal responsibility for writing that plan to suit you. It’s a personal journey.
  3. Set a realistic goal and a clear, simple to follow roadmap to achieving that goal. Aiming high and pushing yourself is important – but keep them realistic.
  4. Have a fall back plan if you don’t achieve your stepping stones towards your goal to keep you on track. Introducing a new habit isn’t always a simple task and to avoid the feeling of failure – assess the potential risks and be mindful of them.
  5. Don’t get thrown off track by failures or setbacks. Revert to the original plan, tweak the plan, but do not give up.
  6. Plot out and be clear what the positives will be from this new habit. Have your outcomes set and monitor them closely to feel and celebrate the successes in your journey.

by Jeni Jones