The New Year is a great time to start a new hobby, pick up some new habits, and maybe even drop a few old ones, but more often than not, people cannot seem to keep their New Year’s Resolutions.

Like with any long term goal, it can be difficult to keep the main focus in mind, or even remember that something is meant to be accomplished over the period it’s set for. High school students often find themselves setting goals for the future, so a New Year’s resolution should not be all that different!

The first step to achieving your New Year’s resolution is making it something that is not far fetched or realistic. “People get discouraged when they set goals they can’t reach and end up giving up,” Psych Company says.

On the flip side of this, people also often set goals that aren’t detailed enough. “Having a goal that is not clear and straightforward makes it difficult to create a plan,” Ivan Asem says. It’s important to start with a goal that will continue to have motivation behind it to be achieved and be something that’s well planned and thought out.

In addition to this, as a sort of first-and-a-half step, it’s better to make a goal to do something as opposed to cutting something out.

The second step in keeping the resolution is laying out the plan to follow to achieve the goal. This should be detailed and well thought out.

Think about the end result that’s desired and really take the time to think out how it’s going to be accomplished. Smaller checkpoints can easily be set for months throughout the year to help the goal progress along. A really great way to help this along is telling friends about the goal set. This way they’re able to encourage it and may ask for updates throughout the year.“It’s your job to motivate yourself and change your environment into one that allows you to do what you set out to do,” Ivan Asem says. “If people’s negativity is getting in the way of your goals, then as part of your new year’s resolution, you should aim to walk away from unsupportive people.”

Do not go diving headfirst into the resolution and try to do it all at the same time. That’s taking way too much at one time and will completely defeat the purpose of accomplishing the goal over the year; exactly what a New Year’s Resolution is about!

“I remind myself of my goals whenever things get hard,” Junior Chloe Pahl says. “They become my motivation to keep going.”

Prioritize what needs to be done first to accomplish the end goal. This can be done within the plan, or separately.

“I set reminders on my phone so I remember to do things that will help me reach my goal,” Sophomore Emmy Caton says.

It’s extremely important to divide out a huge goal into smaller, bite sized goals. “Set milestones with start and end dates to give yourself a sense of how you are progressing, and most importantly to properly set your own expectations,” Psych Company says.

The final thing that can be done to keep a resolution is being gentle if things get off track. Not getting angry or wanting to give up when things don’t quite work out will work wonders for progress.

It’s difficult to keep long term goals, let alone one over the course of an entire year. With any hope, many resolutions can be achieved in the year of 2022 using the tips provided. Good luck and happy new year!