2024 has arrived, and it brings new opportunities, new possibilities and, of course, new resolutions! Indeed, a new year is a great time for a fresh start – to reflect on what we have achieved, and to look towards the future.

New Year’s resolutions are easy to make but difficult to keep: a study by Forbes reveals the average resolution lasts about 3.74 months.

Most people lack the willpower, passion or discipline needed to go all the way. Some become disillusioned by the idea of making resolutions in the first place, believing they will inevitably fail.

Fortunately, things don’t have to remain this way. Here are six tips to help you make and stick to strong New Year’s resolutions.

1. Identify areas in your life most in need of change

Consultant psychiatrist and Malaysian Mental Health Association president Dr Andrew Mohanraj believes making resolutions can create an internal struggle between what we think we should do, and what we really want to do.

“It is better to take a balanced approach, with space to think about what we want to change in order to feel better and, thereby, stop creating unrealistic goals that make us feel worse,” he told FMT Lifestyle.

“The usual goals such as finding the right work-life balance, exercising, or dropping bad habits such as smoking or excessive drinking are undoubtedly important,” said Andrew, who is also a professor at the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Taylor’s University.

“It is crucial to identify facets of our work, home or social life that need to be realistically changed for a more fulfilling life in the year ahead.”

2. Set specific goals

Andrew recommends making very specific goals; for example: “I want to lose 5kg” or “I want to run 10km in under two hours”, instead of the more generic “I want to be healthy”.

Well-defined goals create a sense of purpose and motivation. They make it easier to develop a detailed and effective plan of action to ultimately reach your objective.

3. Make these goals realistic

Andrew also warned against the trap of pushing oneself too hard or too fast to fulfil a target. Being unrealistic, he said, is the main cause of broken New Year’s resolutions.

“It sets us up for failure before we even get started. Better to start small, with a goal we know we can achieve, and gradually work our way up to it.

“For resolutions to succeed, there also needs to be some flexibility: for example, a cheat day in an exercise or diet regime. Keeping goals simple and attainable makes the resolution more achievable.”

4. Look for an accountability partner

Having to report your progress to another person discourages procrastination and increases one’s sense of responsibility.

“If we want to stick to our resolutions, the surest way is to make them known to our family and friends,” Andrew advised.

“That way, we will try to follow through as much as possible since our goals are open to observation by others.”

5. Reward yourself when you succeed

Managed to keep your resolve or made great progress with it? Treat yourself, you’ve earned it! Have a favourite meal, go for an enjoyable activity, or indulge in something you love.

Or go ahead and post about it on social media. The satisfaction, Andrew said, will encourage you to continue down your path.

6. Don’t stress too much if you don’t

Sometimes, despite even your best efforts, you will fail to keep your resolution. This, Andrew said, is perfectly OK.

“Instead of assuming that breaking resolutions is a bad thing, we should use it as an opportunity to grow and learn. The key is to look at our broken resolution and try to determine why it wasn’t attainable. Once we do that, we can then set more achievable goals.

“Even if we stumble, we should not be overly worried because that is part of the process, too. We learn infinitely more from our failures than we do from our successes,” he concluded.

FMT Lifestyle wishes you all the best for your New Year’s resolutions, and may you have an amazing 2024!