2020 has been a wild year. Thankfully, it’s over! That means it’s once again time to embrace a brand new year. The fresh start will be welcome for many and represents a clean slate, a new start, and an opportunity for positive change. 

It’s easy to be optimistic and to talk about your resolutions, but many end up deserting these new habits by the end of January. So how do we make this year different? How do we make them stick?

There are two major components of sustainable habit building: patience and positivity. By implementing both of these into your approach, you’ll find yourself a more disciplined person in no time. 

Patience

Let’s start with patience: it’s easy to want to see change in your life immediately, but our brains simply don’t work like that. We love routines and a new habit disrupts that. It’s important to start small with your habits so your routine doesn’t have major changes. A planner is a great way to slowly add your new year resolutions over time to avoid large routine disruptions. 

So you want to be healthy? Awesome! This habit will have a much better chance of sticking if you start small by aiming to workout a few times a week and making minor changes in your diet. 

And Remember: Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are our best selves. 

It’s important to gradually ramp up towards your goal. Once you’ve gone about a month without disruption and this new habit has become a normal part of your routine, that is a great point to reexamine and add to the initial concept.

Positivity

Let’s use the same example from before: let’s say we want to cultivate a healthier self in 2021. It’s January, you’ve got our new workout clothes on, a fresh water bottle in hand, and you’re ready to get after it. So you workout and it feels amazing. Then you do it again… then again. Then another time. 

Suddenly, it’s Monday on Week 3 and for some reason we aren’t as excited as before. The novelty is gone and this habit has lost its glamour. But we go anyway and boy is it tough. But you do it and are happy you did. Then you push through a few more workouts for the week until you hit a strong "I'm not going to workout today" feeling because a long day physically or mentally and have no energy to workout. 

So what do you do? Well, you do what you should: you give yourself a break. AND YES it's okay to do that! Remember, it takes patience and time to build up this new habit. So don't feel negative or like you need to make it up. Just enjoy the extra time and start fresh the next week because if you work out with a negative attitude, the new habit will be associated with annoyance, negativity, and dreadfulness. 

So be positive. Be patient. Listen to your body and do what is best for you. Don’t be so hard on yourself and understand that one misstep doesn’t have to send you tumbling back down the staircase. Just do your best, be persistent, and continue working towards cultivating your best self. We would love to hear what your new year resolutions are in our facebook group!