SARAH SAYS

Keeping motivation through the new year

Sarah Roberts | Managing and Business Editor

Whether you are trying to keep a New Years resolution, Lenten promise or making any new goal for yourself, having the motivation to stick with it is hard.

You stay on task and constantly do things towards your goals, but after a week, you fizzle out because you have yet to make it a habit. Getting up early to make your lunch gets harder and all you want are a bag of chips and cookies at lunch.

It is hard to stay motivated to accomplish your goals, or even get to the next year; I get it, but there are ways to stay motivated.

BE REALISTIC

Start out small and work your way up. Don’t make a plan to hike the entire stretch of the Appalachian Mountains in a year. The trek is not only long and physically trying on a person, but only one out of four hikers that attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail actually finish it. Instead, start out with a small hike at Fort Clinch in Amelia Island. You can have big goals, but do not believe you can run straight towards these goals without a plan.

WRITE DOWN SMALL GOALS FOR THE DAY

Take a pack of sticky notes and, every day and before you go to bed, write down some goals for the next day. Write something like “pack your lunch today” or “write down one good thing that happens today,” and put the notes where you know you will see them. The constant daily reminders help you build small habits to help you make progress toward larger goals.

REFLECT ON EACH DAY

At the end of each day, think about what you accomplished. Did you have an easy day at school? What happened that made your day better? I write down notes in a bullet journal about funny events or something I need to remember, for instance the physics test on Friday. This, along with reminder sticky notes, are helpful during the 21 days of building a habit. On a day where I get a step closer to achieving one of my goals I write, “You did it. You kicked butt today. Now onto the next thing.” Think of what you can do tomorrow to help you work towards your goals.

Whatever your goal is for the new year, you need to stick with it or you may not grow as a person. Start with something small and build it to be something bigger. You may be able to hike that mountain by the end of the year, if you work towards it. Give yourself little affirmations that you can achieve your goals. Remember: “You are going after what you want and no one is going to stop you.”