How I Kept My New Year’s Resolutions Through a Pandemic
By: Marina Liste
Tags: Motivation, Goals, Habits, Self, New Year

How I Kept My New Year’s Resolutions Through a Pandemic

Contrary to what I initially thought, none of my goals were dependent on any external factors. They all turned out to be about personal growth. Marina Liste Dec 27, 2020·4 min read

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Last week I had my last French class of the year. Because of the date, we talked about the usual topics: Christmas, and how this awful year is coming to an end. Obviously, everybody laughed when the teacher mentioned New Year’s resolutions. After all, who can plan anything in the middle of a pandemic? But just then I realized something: I had never set any resolutions before 2020, and I’d feel silly for having them throughout the year. And yet, I managed to accomplish 99% of my goals. But how did I do it?

Contrary to what I initially thought, none of my goals were dependent on any external factors, they all turned out to be about personal growth. And I believe that the following points helped me to achieve all those goals:

Planning ahead.

How do you intend to accomplish your goals? What specific steps are you going to follow? Do you have a timeline?

How do you intend to accomplish your goals? What specific steps are you going to follow? Do you have a timeline? Be realistic, and resilient.

Most of the time, resolutions are related to a change in our habits (quit smoking, start exercising, eat healthy, etc.) And changing a habit takes time, and a lot of intentional effort. I recommend you read The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg. You will get a deeper understanding of how daily habits define our lives. Because you have been relying on your bad habits your whole life, don’t expect to change them overnight, nor to get everything right on the first try.

Most of the time, resolutions are related to a change in our habits (quit smoking, start exercising, eat healthy, etc.) And changing a habit takes time, and a lot of intentional effort. I recommend you read The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg. You will get a deeper understanding of how daily habits define our lives. Because you have been relying on your bad habits your whole life, don’t expect to change them overnight, nor to get everything right on the first try. Less is more.

You don’t need to get your six-pack ready for summer. Maybe, this year you could just focus on establishing the habit of exercising regularly, and once you’ve got that, you might want to tackle something more specific. Or maybe, instead of travelling the whole world in the next 365 days, you can start by just visiting a couple of countries. You don’t need to change 10 different things about yourself all at the same time. It’s better to start with small daily changes until you can stick with them for a long period of time. And once you’re comfortable with those, try something bigger.

You don’t need to get your six-pack ready for summer. Maybe, this year you could just focus on establishing the habit of exercising regularly, and once you’ve got that, you might want to tackle something more specific. Or maybe, instead of travelling the whole world in the next 365 days, you can start by just visiting a couple of countries. You don’t need to change 10 different things about yourself all at the same time. It’s better to start with small daily changes until you can stick with them for a long period of time. And once you’re comfortable with those, try something bigger. Break the resolution into smaller goals.

The bigger the project is, the harder to find a solution. Like a cake, you can’t (or shouldn’t) eat the whole thing in one bite, you need to cut it into portions; and then eat them one by one. The same applies to resolutions: you should divide them as well into smaller portions, and for each piece, come up with a concrete solution.

The bigger the project is, the harder to find a solution. Like a cake, you can’t (or shouldn’t) eat the whole thing in one bite, you need to cut it into portions; and then eat them one by one. The same applies to resolutions: you should divide them as well into smaller portions, and for each piece, come up with a concrete solution. Keep your goals up to date as the year goes on.

As the year progresses, you might gain a deeper insight into the objectives you are trying to achieve. This could definitely change your plans, and it’s important to acknowledge those changes on your resolutions’ timelines.

As the year progresses, you might gain a deeper insight into the objectives you are trying to achieve. This could definitely change your plans, and it’s important to acknowledge those changes on your resolutions’ timelines. Be kind to yourself.

In order to get what you want, you’ll have to work on your habits every day, which is challenging. Some days you might feel like you are failing; others you will be tempted to do nothing. Whatever happens, try to talk to yourself as you would your best friend. Cut off that toxic inner talk, enjoy the process, and be patient. Even if you don’t completely succeed, you’ll have gained the tools to try again, and you’ll be better prepared.

Why do so many people fail to accomplish their New Year’s resolutions?

As many mental health professionals highlight, this has been an extremely difficult, and traumatic year, and it is normal for resolutions to get left aside with all the turmoil of this historic time. We all had big expectations of ourselves when the lockdowns started. Oh, how productive we thought we were going to be!

While this is true for the current year, what is it the problem with New Year’s resolutions any other year? Why does everyone seem to struggle with them? I’m no expert in human behavior (this is what psychologists think about the issue), but I feel this could be an important reason that explains the phenomenon:

You haven’t thought about why those resolutions are important to you.

Resolutions can be a bit generic sometimes. But the reasons we want to achieve them, aren’t. When writing down your goals for the upcoming year, have you asked yourself why these particular goals are so important to you? It’s not about the goal itself, it’s about what do you want to achieve through it. If you don’t have a good reason for, you’ll find it incredibly difficult to stick to them.