The Only Decisions You Must Make for 2021
In theory, New Year’s promises should make your life less stressful, or at least give you an opportunity to solve problems in your life that you would like to change. In reality, however, a sublime New Year’s resolution can often hang over you, forming an annoying reminder of your perceived inability to reinvent yourself just because 365 more days have passed.
This year on New Years, I say, to hell with it all. The twentieth year has been marked by economic collapse, political instability, civil unrest and a raging pandemic that is still spreading across the country. Why start 2021 with voluntary stress, especially when the world around you offers you so little respite?
The only decisions you have to make for 2021 are stress-free decisions. Here’s how to set New Year’s plans without overwhelming yourself with stress.
Make sure your goals are actually achievable
We would all like to emerge like a phoenix from the ashes of 2020, with tons of new skills and hobbies, but life doesn’t work that way. If you are trying to achieve something new, make sure that your goal is truly attainable. Are you going to go from no running to running 5K every day, or even every couple of days? No, it’s not like that. So why leave yourself a mountain to climb?
The VeryWellMind mental health website offers to set SMART goals (an abbreviation for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound).
When it comes to the popular New Year’s weight loss solution, the site explains how SMART goal orientation can be applied:
I will lose one pound every week until I reach XXX pounds in eight months.
I will be losing six pounds a month until I reach XXX pounds in a year.
Understanding that the solution to the problem is not achieved in January, but within a year, will help you to die your expectations.
Track your progress
No change happens overnight, so keeping track of how you reset your target will help you put things in perspective. Writing something will help you internalize and respect the process. Patience is key, as polls show that 80 percent of New Year’s promises fail, likely due to volatile people and unstable discipline.
Plus, tracking your progress – whether you’re cutting back on smoking, trying to lose weight, or reading more – will help you understand how far you’ve come, even if your ultimate goal seems far from the future.
Take it step by step
You are not going to completely eliminate your shortcomings in one fell swoop. This is why it probably makes sense to solve one problem at a time. Usually, people want to tackle serious life issues that they feel are holding them back, such as limiting alcohol use. Correcting behaviors that have been ingrained over the years is a burdensome task, and approaching it gradually is the right way to go.
Psychologist Lynn Bufka, Ph.D., told the American Psychological Association :
Remember that it is not the degree of change that matters, but rather the act of recognizing the importance of lifestyle change and working towards it step by step.
Reward yourself
New Year’s promises are thrown away so quickly because they are usually difficult to keep. This is why you should stop and take stock of some of the big steps you are taking to reach your goal. If you’re trying to eat healthier foods, don’t celebrate with a slice of cake, but definitely do something to acknowledge the progress you’ve made.
Understand that failures happen.
No one makes a long-term commitment to changing their behavior without hiccups and bumps in the road. You must remember that anything you are trying to change is likely to run into some difficulties. If something knocks you off the rails, stay on course and don’t hesitate to ask the people close to you for help.
The APA recognizes how common failure is in the following situations:
Perfection is unattainable. Remember that small oversights in achieving your goals are normal and normal. Don’t give up completely because you ate a cake and upset your diet, or didn’t go to the gym for a week because you were busy. Everyone has their ups and downs; Make the decision to bounce back from your mistakes and get back on track.
Even if you manage to deliver on half of your New Year’s promise, you will still be better off than if you announced an ambitious goal at the beginning of the year and abandoned it after the first failure.