Tips for Setting and Achieving Realistic Resolutions

Your one stop guide to making meaningful and personal resolutions that really stick!

January and the New Year always bring an attitude of “A New Me” and self reflection. TY is the perfect opportunity to really take this feeling of a fresh start to a new level. It can be your final chance to throw yourself into Fourth Year and get the most out of it, while also preparing yourself for Fifth Year.

While it’s always good to set goals for the months and year ahead, it is important that they are realistic and well thought out. So whether you want to learn a new skill, pick up a sport or give back somehow, here are some top tips to keep in mind when setting – and acting upon – your 2020 resolutions. 

#1 Identify Your Passions and Priorities

When setting goals, it can be useful to sort them into two categories; Your passions and your priorities. Your passions are the things you love to do: your hobbies; sports; past times. They are vital to your happiness and well-roundedness as an individual and deserve to be worked on. Maybe you want to make the local U18s team or read 20 books in 2020. However, depending on your situation, these may not be your priorities. Maybe you’re taking exams, focusing on your health or need a part time job. These are the goals that need to be achieved in 2020. 

Of course, as you list these two categories out, you’ll find some overlap. The goals that fit into both categories should be your main focus as you will get the most out of them. After the overlap, you should focus on balancing your priorities first and then your passions. This will give you a better chance at being able to complete your goals if you have a varied and engaging list to work on!

#2 Make your goals time oriented

While making your goals time orientated may seem stressful at first it actually increases your chance of reaching your goals! Personal deadlines can motivate you to work harder and smarter to complete what you need to complete your objectives. It grounds the goal to reality and allows you to start to see where you should be and what you should be achieving on a weekly and monthly basis. This system is also really useful for TY students doing Gaisce who may have some catching up on activities to do!

#3 Plan your Goals

Many people set goals for the New Year but often fail because they don’t set a plan to achieve them. It can be really useful to break down your resolution into steps that you can tick off as you go along. Also, when broken down, the idea doesn’t seem so looming or intense. Planning how to reach your goal makes you more likely to achieve it as you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into and how you’re going to get there! 

#4 Track Your Progress

The only way to see improvement, achievement and results is to track and monitor your progress. Tracking yourself can allow you to see what’s working and what’s not within your goal plan. Firstly, you can see how far you’ve come which will motivate you to keep working at your goal. Secondly, you can also easily see which goals have become unimportant, unattainable and uninteresting to you. You can then remodel these goals and get back on track!

#5 Rethink and Review

If you’ve been working at on your goals and they start feeling like chores or are no longer fulfilling, it is important to rethink and review your goals. It’s unproductive to keep doing something that isn’t working or that you’re no longer interested in. Over the next few months, you’re going to grow and change. Your goals and desires should change and adapt with you. Goals should always be relevant, interesting and important!

With all the above in mind, it should be much easier to get the most out of 2020 and your resolutions. Change is always welcome and helps us develop as people. Making smart changes and setting smart goals is a great way to start the new year and ensure that you’re living your life as fully as you can!