avatarDanielle Ramaekers

Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of making small, consistent changes to one's internal and external environment to successfully stick to New Year's resolutions.

Abstract

The key to maintaining New Year's resolutions lies in planning and taking small, consistent steps towards the defined goal. The article suggests that influencing both the external environment, such as organizing the home to support healthy habits, and the internal environment, like practicing mindfulness, can create positive feedback loops that reinforce the changes. By making incremental adjustments and ensuring that one's surroundings and mindset are aligned with their goals, individuals can turn their resolutions into lasting habits. The process of change is depicted as gradual and manageable, rather than overwhelming and sudden, promoting sustainable transformation in the new year.

Opinions

  • The author believes that consistent action is crucial for achieving New Year's resolutions.
  • Positive changes in the external environment, like a well-stocked fridge with fresh produce or readily available workout gear, can significantly aid in sticking to health goals.
  • Visual cues that support New Year's resolutions within one's environment make it easier to adhere to new habits.
  • Positive internal changes, such as cultivating gratitude and challenging unhealthy beliefs, are seen as important for reinforcing external changes.
  • Small changes in both internal and external environments can interact and amplify each other, creating positive feedback loops.
  • The author advocates for gradual change rather than quick, drastic transformations, suggesting that this approach leads to more sustainable habits.
  • The article posits that by influencing both the internal and external environments, individuals can make their New Year's resolutions stick and lay the groundwork for continued positive change throughout the year.

How to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions

Influencing your environment to support your efforts is vital

Photo by Ian Stauffer on Unsplash

The secret to sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions is taking small, consistent steps in the right direction. Read on to discover how affecting your environment for positive change can help you keep your 2022 New Year’s resolutions.

Stick to Your New Year’s Resolution by Taking Small, Planned Steps

After defining your New Year’s resolution, it’s time to plan the steps you need to take to achieve it.

Once you’ve got your plan, the trick is to follow it. Today, tomorrow, the day after, the day after that, until your healthy habits become second nature.

The key to achieving your New Year’s resolution lies in taking consistent action. And influencing your environments for positive change can propel you forward faster.

Influence Your External Environment to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions

If your health goal is to ‘eat vegetables with dinner five nights per week’, but you open your fridge to see a bunch of wilted spinach and a couple of rotten tomatoes, achieving your New Year’s resolution might get tricky.

Influencing your external environment to support your new #healthgoal could entail a Sunday market trip to stock your fridge with produce for the rest of the week.

It could also be laying your yoga clothes out with your mat the night before class or putting your running shoes by the front door.

Influencing your external environment with positive visual stimuli that support your New Year’s resolutions will make them easier to stick to.

Influence Your Internal Environment to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions

Consistently eating those fresh vegetables and using your conveniently placed yoga mat will then begin to positively influence your internal environment. AKA your body’s biochemistry.

Influencing your internal environment further will encourage you to stick to the positive external changes you’ve already made, so consider writing one healthy thought for an unhealthy belief, finding three things to be grateful for each day, or practising mindfulness in ways that support your 2022 health resolutions.

These simple exercises can then influence your external environment and create positive feedback loops as you become more aware, positive, and present in your everyday life.

Creating Positive Feedback Loops to Help You Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions

Over time, the small changes you make in your internal and external environments influence each other and grow into positive feedback loops.

And the good news is change needn’t be quick and fast. Sudden change can feel overwhelming and send you back to your comfort zone. But defining one New Year’s resolution and influencing your external and internal environments to support small steps in the best direction will help you create manageable change that lasts.

So, try finding ways to influence your external and internal environments positively this New Year. Not only will you help yourself stick to your resolutions today, but you’ll create beneficial habits for tomorrow and make solid foundations for positive change in 2022.

Happy New Year!

Advice
Fitness
Health
Mental Health
Lifehacks
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