COVER STORY
Five tips
KEEP YOUR RESOLUTIONS! by Brooklynn Smith
It’s late December and the holiday festivities are coming to an end. All of the gifts were opened, the food savored, and the champagne popped. New memories were made, along with a bunch of good stories to share for the coming year. You’re now with family and friends, quietly resting from all the excitement, when all of a sudden you remember something important. No it’s not making sure that the Christmas tree lights aren’t overheating. And no, it’s not whether you said too much at your job’s Christmas party. You remember your New Year’s resolutions.
E
very year we’re challenged to do a twelve-month evaluation of ourselves. For most people, it typically goes like this: 20
we think of all the ways we’ve underachieved throughout the year, then we come up with new habits for the new year that will magically fix our
December 2023 | The South Coast Insider
flaws and make us better. Common resolutions are quitting cigarettes, becoming debt-free, and working out every single day at 5 a.m. Once January 1 rolls around, we start the new habit for a couple of weeks, feel good about ourselves, then it quickly fizzles out, and sooner than you realize you’re back to the same ol’ routine in February. Nothing changes, and the cycle repeats itself. Luckily, there’s a different approach you can take to avoid this hamster wheel. Let me introduce to you five methods that will help your resolutions last all year!
1
Reflect on your good and bad habits
Before diving headfirst
into making your resolutions, take a moment to step back and reflect on the year. Try to focus on all of your achievements, the skills you gained, and all the ups and downs you’ve experienced. Consider the lessons you’ve learned, the people you’ve met, and how it shaped you to be the person you are today. This introspection mindset is a crucial foundation for long-lasting resolutions.
2
Set realistic goals with purpose
Resist the temptation to overwhelm yourself with too many resolutions. Despite there being 12 months in a year, avoid having 12 resolutions. Our end results are to achieve and succeed. That can’t
