Don't Quit! How to keep your resolutions going

At the beginning of every year, we hear tons about people who use the new year to make resolutions - to try and change little or big things about themselves or their lives for the better. Unfortunately, many of these resolutions fall apart in the first few weeks. It's even social media official - the second Friday of January is known as "Quitter's Day". So how exactly can you keep those resolutions going? Here are some small things you can do to keep from dropping out.

1. Go small, not big

It is great to want to lose 50lbs and work out every day. Unfortunately, big goals are not unachievable, and radical lifestyle changes are not impossible, but big goals can be frustratingly far away when you first get started, and can make you want to throw in the towel quickly if it doesn't seem like anything is happening. it is very easy to go "too big too fast" which can result in either getting overwhelmed, hurt, over-exhausted, or needing to 'take a day off' which results in never going back. It is fine to have a big goal in mind, but instead, work on baby steps towards that goal. Maybe instead of losing 50 lbs, shoot for losing 5 by the end of the month. Instead of working out every day, shoot for 2 or 3 days a week. If you hit and can sustain those small goals, ramp it up and shoot for the next level.

2. Make a plan to build up to it

Nobody said you had to achieve all your New Years' Resolutions by the end of January. If you want to achieve something new, make a plan of those baby steps, and how you want to work up to it. Write down everything you want to do, then figure out a way to start small and each week/month/etc add a next step to the plan and build up to what you really want to be doing. This way you don't go to big too fast and you are more easily able to achieve what you want because you adjusted as you went rather than making a big change that required a lot of other pieces to fall into place.

3. Schedule ahead

Sometimes the best way to keep yourself from flaking out is to get it on a schedule or calendar. Want to make sure you are getting a massage every month instead of only when you feel horrible? Schedule your next appointment before leaving your last appointment so that it is there on the calendar already and you are less likely to find other reasons to not schedule. Want to go to the gym more often? Put it on the calendar or to-do list and cross it off when it's done. It is easy to avoid something that isn't routine, so put it where the rest of your routine lives and it is more likely to stick.

4. Don't be afraid to re-evaluate - a lot

I personally don't just make resolutions at New Years. I use every portion of my year to re-evaluate and change up or refine goals. I'll start some at the beginning of the year, then after Spring Break, then after summer is over, etc. There is no rule that you can only make resolutions at the beginning of January. Sometimes the best plans don't pan out and you need to pivot. Use each significant time event in your year to check in and re-plan if you need to.

5. Quitting doesn't have to be permanent

If you didn't hit your weight loss goal by the time you wanted, that is no reason to stop trying. Maybe if your resolution isn't working out how you wanted or planned, or you took those few days off and never went back, it doesn't have to stay that way. Rethink, re-plan, change the priority of the goal, and allow yourself to acknowledge that yeah, it didn't work this time, so what can you change to make it work out better? Sometimes getting back up after quitting can take way more effort than starting fresh, but it is worth it in the end.

6. Celebrate the small wins

If your goal is to work out every day, and you only lift light dumbbells for 10 minutes 2 days a week, that's awesome! Everything has to start somewhere, and even if the goals and markers you hit aren't the ones you're are hoping for as fast as you are hoping for, that is no excuse to ignore progress. Every small win is a win in that it is a step in the right direction. Small wins can seem insignificant when the major goal seems so far away, but allow yourself to be proud and happy with every small step, and each step will feel that much easier.

So resolutions can seem frivolous and even unattainable, but with careful planning, realistic expectations, and a little self love and acceptance, you can get over the temptation to quit - or pick back up wherever you left off and still hit those goals.