ACHIEVE

Ahhh, it’s almost time to say goodbye to 2016! I’m not sure if I’m ready for that though..2016 has been such a great year of change which I’ll never forget and as sad as I am to see it go, I know that the best is yet to come! In my Instagram post yesterday, I talked about how over the years New Years’ resolutions have taken on a completely different form for me.. from trying to change certain things about myself in a very aimless manner to letting go and making changes whenever I deem fit, has been the biggest learning experiences for me. If you’ve got some resolutions set up for the coming year and already know that it’s going to be hard for you to keep up with them, I am sharing some tips today to help you to accomplish those goals –

Set realistic goals – If even a tiny part of you thinks that the goals you’ve set for yourself for 2017 are unrealistic by however small a margin, now is the time to make the change. It is well before New Year’s and the perfect time to reflect on your goals and tweak them if needed. Even if you’re going to reduce your goals by half, wouldn’t it be much better to set something that you can actually accomplish and feel good about than trying to chase unrealistic ones for the rest of the year?
Start small – Whenever I’ve had a really big project to deal with or a big goal to accomplish, I’ve tried to break it down into smaller goals. It always makes me feel better and yes, not having a panic attack helps too! (Lol) So whenever I complete a portion of the big chunk, I’m know I’m one step closer to the big dream.
Turn off your devices – As social and virtual as this world has gotten, let’s face it – there’s a lot to do in our lives outside of social media. (haha, coming from a blogger, right?!) But seriously though, through this year I’ve had to finish some really important exams for a qualification that I knew I wanted and tuning out and cutting off from social media has been one of the best decisions I made for it. I knew early on itself that I found it distracting and this is the kind of distraction I couldn’t afford..so whenever I had an exam, I’d go completely off the grid and stay focused on what needed to be done.
Reward yourself – Whenever you’ve managed to stay true to your goal for a reasonable amount of time, reward yourself. You’ve worked hard and you deserve the little treats! Don’t wait for anyone else to do it, go ahead and give yourself a little pat on your back.
Set goals for yourself – I know this sounds silly at first because who else would you set goals for, right? Just hear me out.. Ever so often we set goals to accomplish only to find ourselves wanting approval from others for our little victories. Which may not always be bad, but when we don’t get that pat on the back from someone else, the importance or joy of accomplishing that goal shouldn’t feel any less because the real person for whom you’ve accomplished these goals is yourself!
Keep track – In this extremely busy and fast paced world, it’s very easy to lose track of our goals for the year just a couple of weeks into it. Keep track by maintaining a note, even a mental one or be accountable to another person who you can trust. Every now and then, check up on these goals to see how you’re doing! There’s no point really in setting goals if we’re not going to find a way to keep track of them right?
Pick yourself up – Realistically speaking, there are going to be times when you’ll fail and not keep up – you are going to divert from your path, more than once. But in those times, it is important to remember that this happens to everyone and it’s important to pick yourself right up and keep moving on!

I hope you’re able to accomplish all that you’re setting out to do in 2017! Do you have any other tips that you follow to help you keep up your resolutions?