Resolutions: A Recipe for Success

Gretchen Ruben, author of the blog & novel The Happiness Project, composed a brilliant article containing a list of guidelines to help your New Year’s resolution stick.  After reading her article, I thought about all of the times I believed I could make it the year without breaking my resolution but instead ended up with an egg in my face.  A failure.  Why did this always happen to me?  It wasn’t that I didn’t have good intentions or dreamed the impossible.  Instead, it was because I didn’t make the resolution a prominent event in my daily life nor did I hold myself accountable for my nonfeasance.  This year my boyfriend, Tyler, and I made a resolution to eat at the dinner table instead in front of the TV.  Sounds easy, I know, but after a long day of work all we want to do is put our comfy clothes on and curl up on the couch in front of the TV.  Although everybody needs these days, it’s unhealthy to do this every day, which was about to happen if we didn’t do something about it.  Using Gretchen’s recipe for success, I molded my resolution into a game plan, task, action, and lifestyle.

1.  Be specific.  Instead of saying: “This year I’m going to spend MORE time eating at the dinner table instead of on the couch watching Netflix,”  say “Eat each meal at the table instead of in front of the TV.”  Having a resolution that is measurable is a vital ingredient because what ‘more’ is to one person may not be the same for the next.
2. Write it down.  This one is easy…just do it.  Tyler and I have an old mirror that we sprayed with chalkboard paint in our dining room to write down things we need or little reminders.  Well, the board currently says “Eat at the table” in huge chalk letters with an even larger chalk arrow pointing directly towards the dining room table.  Needless to say, the constant reminder is helping.
3. Review your resolution constantly.  If I’m thinking about what my resolution is every night, it’s much easier to remember.  This even helps when I’m cooking dinner because where I used to avoid soup, a difficult food to eat while sitting on the couch, my reminder to sit at the table means that we could enjoy soup every night!  Well, maybe not.
4. Hold yourself accountable.  According to Gretchen, this is the key to sticking to your New Year’s resolution.  She keeps a resolutions chart, but this is a little more complex for my simple task.  Tyler and I have been great at keeping each other accountable for our resolution.  So, one night when he just felt like lounging, I remind him of our goal to eat at the table each night.
5. Consider making pleasant resolutions.  Make sure that your resolution is fun to keep!  I love mine because it gives Tyler and me a chance to reflect on the day, plan our weekend, and spend quality time together after a day apart.  Until we started spending an hour or so at the table every night I didn’t realize how much we were missing out on.
6. Consider giving up a resolution.  Is there a certain resolution that you make and break year after year?  Maybe you should get rid of it entirely, and focus on something that’s obtainable.  Although my resolution is small, it makes me happier and that’s all that matters in the end!
7. Keep your resolution every day.  It may not seem like it, but doing your resolution on a daily basis is actually easier than intermittently.  Instead of saying you’ll do something 3 days a week, do it every day.  It will make the task more routine and you’ll reach that goal even faster than expected.

8. 💕 Be YOURSELF! 💕
   What is your New Year’s resolution, and what are you doing to make it stick? Chao, 💜 Adrien