5 TIPS TO REACH YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Welcome to 2021!  It’s that wonderful time of year, the New Year, when we are filled with hope at the prospect of what’s to come–we feel like we get to hit the “reset” button!  It’s a refreshing feeling to take stock of the areas of our life that are on track, and just as exciting assess the areas that need improvement–we make resolutions in the image of the people that we want to be. 

Whether your resolution is to rid yourself of a bad habit, or to implement a healthy one, very few of us actually do the work necessary to put a plan in place to succeed.  Without a plan, a new resolution is like going to a new city without a map. 

When you begin the Metrin Skincare System, the plan is easy to follow: steps one thru five twice a day, every day, and all five steps work in synergy.  Putting a plan in place to turn your resolutions into reality are not so different from the consistency and routine needed to have healthy, beautiful skin; a plan, repetition, consistency, and synergy of all the steps combined. 

So, where do you begin? Below is our compilation of the five best tips to create a synergistic plan to help you reach your resolution goals. 

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” ~ Jim Ryun 

1. Get a journal and use it daily.

When we write our goals, aspirations, dreams, and plans down they become more tangible. Seeing a plan written down on paper as opposed to being a stream of thoughts circulating in our minds helps us to clarify and whittle our goals down to the essence of what it is we really want to accomplish. Do we want to lose 60lbs? Yes, but why? What is the motivation for making you want to lose 60lbs? Is it to feel better? How do you define ‘better’? Be as specific as possible. Journals help you have a better connection with the values and emotions that define your goals. 

2. Think big and work backwards.

We are all innately good at this in real life but don’t necessarily see the correlation this has to goal planning and habit building. If we want to take a trip to Paris, Paris is the big goal. We think of it first and then start to plan the smaller steps we need to take to get there – we see the big picture and then we work backwards: booking flights, booking hotels, looking at restaurants to plan the places we must eat at, looking at ticket prices to plan for the museums/the Eifel Tower, looking at maps to plan which areas of the city we are dying to see, looking in our closets to plan the wardrobe we want to bring, etc. How ridiculous would it be to say you are going to Paris, book the time off work, and then take none of the steps to actually get yourself there!? 

In planning for a resolution, we must take the same steps to reach our goal or the likelihood of reaching it becomes minimal. Just like Paris. No one wants to fail, but we will if we fail to plan! So, if you want to lose 60lbs, set the big goal at 60lbs, make a realistic timeline for yourself, and take stock of all of the small steps that will get you to your goal by working backwards. Write this all down in your journal. 

3. Find the emotional value.

Look into your jewelry box and find your favorite piece of jewelry. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but surely there are emotions tied to it. Did your favorite grandmother leave it for you in her will? Did your husband buy it for you after the birth of your first child? The things that matter most to us in life have an emotional value. 

In planning to fulfill a resolution in your life, think about how achieving this goal will resonate with you on an emotional level. How will you feel when you lose those 60lbs? What emotions do you feel yourself having when you visualize slipping on a dress four sizes smaller than the one you wear now? How do you visualize yourself feeling when you tell your family that your doctor has given you a clean bill of health? Attach an emotional value to your planning outcome and aim to reach that feeling as well as your original goal. 

4. Expect failure and imperfection.

This is not intended to sound pessimistic, just realistic. If you plan to have some hiccups along the way, then you’re much less likely to beat yourself up too hard when you eat three cookies instead of just one. Life will go on and we must remember that we are human; humans are imperfect, and that’s absolutely ok. Chasing after perfection is like chasing after a unicorn, it doesn’t and will never exist. 

Also, write down your hiccups all the while writing down your successes. After some time, when you look back at your journal you’ll be able to read all of your many successes and be comforted to see that the ‘failures’ are fewer and farther in between. No need to worry or panic; reread your journal to find the motivation to get yourself back on track. 

5. Ask for help.

No one can go it alone no matter what your resolution is. Asking for help or support is not a sign of weakness, it’s in fact a sign of strength. It shows more courage to let the world see your vulnerability by asking for help, than by hiding inside yourself to give the impression that you can do it alone. 

The American Psychological Association says this about asking for help: “Accepting help from those who care about you and will listen strengthens your resilience and ability to manage stress caused by your resolution….
Share your experiences with family and friends. Consider joining a support group to reach your goals, such as a workout class at your gym, or a group of coworkers quitting smoking. Having someone to share your struggles and successes with makes your journey to a healthier lifestyle that much easier and less intimidating.” 

So muster up! Grab your pen and paper and get planning! Using these tools daily will help you create a synergistic effort so that you can fulfill your resolutions and make 2021 your best year ever!