Realistic New Years Resolutions That Are Actually Achievable

Happy New Year! At the beginning of the year, a lot of people set new goals and love that people want to challenge themselves, but unfortunately, most people will fail by next week because they set goals that are completely ridiculous and impossible to achieve. I love that people are setting goals for themselves because growth happens when we challenge ourselves, but if you want to be successful, your goal has to be reachable because unrealistic goals lead to people giving up and quitting. I think that a lot of people want to reach their New Resolutions but fail every year because they don’t know what a realistic goal is and think that they need to have huge goals. New Year’s resolutions do not have to be completely wild, and I don’t think they should be because you can set small goals and see big changes. What goals can you make in the New Year that are actually possible to achieve? In this post, I am going to share a couple of realistic goals you can make in the New Year.

Move more– One of the most common New Year resolutions is fitness-related because during the holidays people sometimes gain weight and want to get back into shape. Fitness is a great New Year’s Resolution because it’s never too late to start improving your physical health but it’s hard to get in shape and it’s the one goal people will give up first. When making a fitness goal people tend to make goals that are completely wild and would require a very rigorous training schedule to even come close to reaching your goal. If you are new to exercising it is so important that you be realistic with your fitness goals because if you set the standard too high you are setting yourself up for failure. It is unrealistic for someone who is new to exercise to make their goal to exercise at five a.m. and do a two-hour workout five days because most people who are new to exercise are not going to enjoy that. Start small and commit to moving more instead of forcing yourself to do high-impact workouts. I bought myself a Fitbit and started walking a little more because one of my fitness goals was to improve my cardiovascular health, and I don’t walk much, but I know over time I will increase my endurance and will be able to walk longer. You don’t have to do extreme workouts to improve your physical health because you’ll see changes if you commit to ten to twenty minutes a day. It takes time to build your fitness, and you don’t have to train harder to get results and you just have to train smarter.

Make healthier choices– Weight loss is a common New Year’s resolution because people want to get healthy after the holidays, but unfortunately, a lot of people follow diets that have too many food rules and are not sustainable. Healthy eating is a great New Year’s Resolution because you can improve your health by making healthier choices, but you don’t have to commit to a highly restrictive diet that says you can never eat ice cream again. You don’t have to force yourself to eat raw broccoli with no sauce because healthy eating doesn’t have to be horrible and shouldn’t be an all-or-nothing mindset. If you want to start eating healthy, start by committing to eating one healthy meal a day, and as you get used to it start adding more healthy meals because you’ll never want to eat a vegetable again if you force yourself to eat it all the time and in ways you don’t enjoy. Healthy food can be delicious, and it does not mean you have to eat salads 24/7.

Stretch more– I am consistent with my workout routine, but I have to admit that when it comes to stretching, it’s not as much of a priority because I get bored holding a stretch and do not enjoy it as much. Stretching is so important because when you improve your flexibility, it will improve your workout performance, which will make you less likely to get injured, and you will have less pain. Some disabled people do not benefit from stretching, but most people do, and if you have been slacking, it’s a great New Year’s Resolution that you can set for yourself. Commit to five minutes of stretching a day, even if you don’t exercise, because stretching isn’t only for people who exercise, and everyone who is able should be doing it.

Be nice to be people who look different- Disabled people often feel isolated because non-disabled people make false assumptions of us and treat us like we are an alien from another planet. As a disabled person, I don’t need to make my New Year’s Resolution to be nice to people who look different because I never discriminate against someone’s disability since I know what that feels like, but there are a lot of non-disabled people who make that their New Resolution. I would love to start seeing people make their New Year’s Resolution to stop using offensive language such as the word retarded and making fun of disabilities because disabled people want to be included but often we aren’t. Disabled people often struggle to make friends because people judge before getting to know us, but we could change that by setting an example and talking to people who look different when no one else is.

Sleep more- Sleep can be a struggle for people who live with pain because sometimes the pain can prevent you from getting good quality sleep. I get enough sleep some days, but most of the time I struggle with sleep and get less than six hours. I have horrible sleep patterns due to pain, and my goal is to get better sleep because, although I can function with five hours of sleep and be somewhat productive, I can do more when I sleep enough. Sleep is often not as much of a priority because people often do not realize the negative health outcomes of poor sleep, and we can all benefit from sleeping more. If you struggle with sleep, make your New Year’s Resolutions to sleep more because our bodies function at its best when we are well rested.

In the New Year, a lot of people have wild goals that are impossible to achieve, which sets you up for failure. You don’t need to make big goals in the New Year to impress your friends because it’s the small goals that prepare you for the bigger ones. People often quit when they struggle to reach their new goals, but you will never reach your goals if you always quit. Make a smaller goal if your goal is unreachable because the solution isn’t to quit and sometimes all you need to do to be successful is adjust your goal to something smaller. I never fall into the pressure of needing to make new goals in January and usually only set them if I have reached my last goal because goals aren’t just for January and can be made any time of the year. It is never too late to start improving yourself, but before you set a goal, ask yourself, “Is this goal realistic, and what is it going to take to reach that goal?” It’s not a good goal if it requires hours of training a day and leads to burnout. What are your New Year’s Resolutions? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.

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