Happy belated New Year! By now, you’ve washed the last of the New Year’s Eve confetti out of your hair and taken steps to achieve the goals you set for yourself for 2019. Unfortunately, though millions of Americans begin each year with resolutions and goals, studies have found that less than 10% of people actually stick to or achieve them. But falling short does not mean you’re a failure, nor does it have to mean that you’re never going to achieve those goals. It just most likely means you’re not approaching your goal with the right mindset. So here are a few tips to increase your motivation and keep New Near’s resolutions.
Get Your Mind in the Right Place
We all like to believe that we can set a resolution and stick to it for the remainder of the year, and possibly for the rest of our lives. But life and the everyday routine can hit rather quickly, and we sometimes end up going back to our old habits.
One of the main reasons behind this is that many do not have the right mindset when starting a new resolution or goal. Often, people approach their goals thinking only about what they have to do to keep New Year’s resolutions. However, focusing too much on the steps can lead to stress and anxiety. When we think about how we are going to have to change our lifestyle or consider how much time it is going to take to accomplish our goals, it can seem like too much. No one likes an insurmountable task!
The best strategy is to think about your motivations. Why did you want to commit to this resolution or goal in the first place? What do you want to get out of the time you are putting in? Only when you find true meaning and insight that resonates with you can you develop the unwavering motivation to reach your goals.
Know What Achieving Your Goal Truly Mean to You
Even when you start with a positive mindset and possess the motivation for achieving your goals, you can still lose motivation, especially if you encounter obstacles. If an obstacle makes you stumble, even for one day, that one day makes it increasingly easy to fall back on old habits again and again until you’ve completely abandoned your New Year’s goals.
If you find yourself falling back into old habits, try to remember why you are striving to reach this goal—and make it personal. For example, many people make losing weight their New Year’s resolution. That’s a noble cause, but not very personal. Instead of saying, “I want to lose weight,” or “I want to lose weight to become healthier,” maybe say something along the lines of: “I want to lose weight so I can spend more time outdoors with my kids or significant other.” When we make a goal more personal, it truly resonates with something we believe in and desire and those goals are more likely to be achieved.
Using Your Phone to Your Advantage: Nine Goal-Setting Apps to Set You Up For Success
When you start any goal, it is important to monitor your progress, and your phone is a great tool to keep you on track. There are plenty of apps that will help you track your progress and even reward you when you achieve your goals. Here are some goal-setting apps we recommend to monitor your progress and keep you motivated.
1. Productive
4.7 Stars | 37.6k Ratings | #34 Productivity | FREE – Offers In-App Purchases
Build your routine and change your habits by setting personal goals and tracking your progress. The Productive app’s easy-to-use interface lets you schedule habits for any time of the day, set smart reminders and stay on track with useful feedback.
2. Streaks
4.8 stars | 6.46K Ratings | #16 Health & Fitness | $4.99
With the Streaks goal-setting app you can track up to 12 tasks you want to complete each day and the goal is to build streaks. The app automatically knows when you finish tasks, reminds you when you need to complete a task, and helps you break bad habits with negative tasks.
3. Strides: Habit Tracker
4.8 Stars | 3.92K Rating | #177 Productivity | FREE – Offers In-App Purchases
Track anything you want with this flexible app. Strides has four unique tracker types and can be customized to your needs. Charts and reminders help you stay motivated and accountable. The New York Times called Strides “the most comprehensive, user-friendly, beautifully designed goal tracking app available.”
4. Done: A Simple Habit Tracker
4.8 Stars | 2.51K Ratings | #166 Productivity | FREE – Offers In-App Purchases
Build and/or quit habits by setting goals and tracking their progress, while monitoring streaks or chains. With Done, you can set a goal and track it multiple times a day. Done helps you track your habits and tell you when you’ve met your daily, weekly or monthly goals.
5. Way of Life Habit Tracker
4.8 Stars | 2.14K Ratings | FREE – Offers In-App Purchases
Way of Life’s unique color system provides an easy way to identify and change your habits. Collect information and spot positive and negative trends in your lifestyle. Features include custom messages and alarms.
6. HabitBull
4.7 Stars | 5K Ratings | FREE – Offers In-App Purchases
HabitBull keeps you accountable by keeping track of your day-to-day habits and routines. For bad habits, you can identify patterns and set goals to break them. Or you can set goals to increase your positive habits. Or both!
7. Remente Self Improvement
4.7 Stars | 1.12K ratings | FREE – Offers In-App Purchases
The Remente goal-setting app helps you lead a better life by maintaining “focus and direction while managing stress and work-life balance.” The app helps you learn how your life is balanced and uses suggested plans to assist you in achieving your goals. Use their mood journal to learn, adapt and thrive. You can also enroll in exercise courses designed to manage stress, sleep, relationships, productivity and mindfulness.
8. Fabulous
4.6 Stars | 12.9K Ratings | #65 Health & Fitness | Free – Offers In-App Purchases
“Reset your habits and transform your life with evidence-based coaching in just 19 days.” Fabulous has developed an app to provide you with your own personal coach and happiness trainer.
9. Be Focused Focus Timer
4.6 Stars | 1.01K Ratings | Free
The Be Focused app aims to help you retain motivation and focus by breaking up individual tasks among discrete intervals, separated by short breaks. You can “create tasks, configure breaks and track your progress throughout the day, week or custom period.”
Each year provides us with 365 opportunities to better our lives. This year, focus on why you truly want to keep your New Year’s resolutions and achieve your goals. What does achieving your goal mean for you and your loved ones? Don’t let obstacles discourage you. No goal can be accomplished without some roadblocks along the way. However, it’s about your mindset when you approach these obstacles. See these obstacles as just small bumps along the way – bumps that you can easily overcome.
This year is all about becoming a better you, so find and stick to a goal that really resonates with you. You got this!
