How to achieve your New Year's resolutions

New Year's resolution No.1: Eating healthier

Given the opulent Christmas menus and lavish New Year's Eve buffets, it is perhaps no wonder that one of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to start a diet or finally eat healthier. A diet with whole foods and lots of fruit and vegetables is not only healthy for the body, but also makes you feel better afterwards. If your body gets all the nutrients it needs, you will have plenty of energy for your projects in the new year and will feel less tired. But how do you stick to your goal when calorie-laden treats seem irresistible even after the holidays?  The solution is not to go on the latest crash diet and ban your favorite snacks forever. If you find the prospect of radical lifelong bans such as "no more chocolate" not particularly motivating, that's more than understandable. Unrealistic goals and strict rules will only lead to you giving up on your New Year's resolutions again soon. Instead, it is better to change your old habits slowly and permanently. So, continue to treat yourself to a portion of chips or a burger on special occasions, but get into the habit of ordering a fresh salad with it and opt for less sugary drinks. For instance, have your beloved spaghetti bolognese served with less minced meat sauce and more vegetables instead. It's less about taking something away and more about adding something. If you make vegetables and salads an integral part of all your meals, such as always filling half your plate with vegetables, you will automatically eat less of the typical "fattening foods" without having to go without. This is a wonderful thing for your mindset: you stay motivated naturally because you are not depriving yourself of anything. Making these small changes to your diet won't make you slim overnight, but it will do your body good in the long term. 

New Year's resolution No.2: More exercise

Wanting to exercise more is also a perennial favorite among New Year's resolutions. As with dietary changes, the surest way to fail is by taking on too much at once. If you spent last year on the couch and now, you're resolving to go jogging every day, it's not going to work. 😉 Even the best plan is only effective if it's put into practice over the long term. It is therefore better to set yourself small goals in line with your individual fitness level. Our best motivational tip for permanently integrating more sport into your everyday life: Focus on how regular exercise makes you feel rather than how it changes your appearance. Exercise not only gives you a toned figure, but it can also help you reduce stress and stabilize your mood so that you will be able to cope better with the challenges of everyday life. Once you've experienced how good and liberated regular exercise makes you feel, you won't want to do without it and will stick to your own fitness routine over time.

New Year's resolution No.3: Working on your career

Many people dream of riding a wave of professional success in the new year. New Year's resolutions that revolve around a pay raise or a promotion to a more responsible position are therefore a common topic on New Year's Eve. If you want to focus on your professional career in the new year, you should first take the time to reflect on your career so far. Even if it is not always easy to assess your own performance objectively, this is a time for self-reflection. By doing so, you will find out in which areas you may need to improve in order to take the next step in your career. 

You don't have to dedicate your whole life to work, but it is important to prove your value to the company and acquire new skills. This year, resolve to take part in more training courses than before, for example. If you stay on track with your career throughout the year, it will pay off sooner or later. But even if your boss doesn't approach you of their own accord, developing your skills will put you in a stronger position to negotiate later on when you initiate discussions about your professional future in the company. 

New Year's resolution No. 4: More time for the family

Wanting to take more time for friends and family in the new year is a New Year's resolution that more and more people are making due to our increasingly stressful everyday lives. Good news: this resolution is actually one of the easiest to implement. We often overlook how many little time-wasters have crept into our habits. We deliberately ignore scrolling through social media in the morning and binge watching Netflix in the evening. Once you become aware of your routine, it's easy to carve out a quarter of an hour here and there to dedicate to your loved ones instead – it's an easy way to achieve one of your good intentions! 

If, for example, you always spend your lunch break alone in front of your smartphone, you could just as easily invest a few minutes during this time to reply to a text message from your partner or show your children that you are thinking of them by sending a funny meme. You could also combine several good New Year's resolutions and create more family time by introducing a healthy dinner together. This way, all family members can enjoy a nutritious meal and the time gained together can be spent telling stories or catching up on the day's events. 

New Year's resolution No. 5: Saving money

When asked about their resolutions, many people currently answer: to save money. In many places, prices for daily necessities such as food or energy costs are rising. On top of this, we live in a "throwaway" society in which things are bought new rather than repaired. But constant consumption is very expensive. Yet saving even small amounts can have a big impact. If you have made a resolution to spend less, start by getting an overall picture of your current spendings. List all your monthly expenses and then see what you can do without or where you can cut back. Several streaming subscriptions? An expensive cell phone contract? Think about what you no longer need and check where it's worth switching to a cheaper option. Even a small monthly saving will gradually add up to a considerable sum – which you can put aside as your savings. 

Conclusion: How to make New Year's resolutions work

When it comes to implementing our New Year's resolutions, we are often our own worst enemy. Us humans are creatures of habit, so we rarely shed old, cherished routines overnight. The solution to success is to avoid excessive demands. Instead of strict plans that are almost impossible to implement, we should set ourselves small, achievable goals. It is also important not to be discouraged by a relapse. That way, we can stay motivated and finally start the next new year with real results instead of failed resolutions!