Five Ways to Keep Your New Years Resolutions!

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On Christmas day, my family and I went to the theaters to watch the movie New Years Eve. 

In the movie, one of the characters, Ingrid (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), hires Paul (Zac Efron) to help her complete all of her 2011 resolutions before midnight of the last day of 2011. 

Although I was able to complete a lot of my new years resolutions from last year like Ingrid (ex. get the ACT & TOEFL scores I had hoped for, and get into the college of my dreams!--that was on my list... ridiculous, I know), 

I wasn't able to cross off all of them (ex. I did not lose 5 pounds, and still haven't stopped swearing completely...).

With about four hours left of 2011 (central time!), I have been thinking a lot about my new years resolutions and how I'm going to keep them and be able to complete all of them in 2012. Although I still haven't finished thinking of all of my new years resolutions, I did my research and came up with five ways I can keep my new years resolutions (and how you can, too!):

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1. Keep the list short and realistic.

Last year, my resolutions expected me to do things that were pretty much impossible, and as a result, I wasn't able to complete them. The more simple the items are, the more you are likely to complete it. 

2. Write things you want to do, not the things you should do.

If you write down things you know you truly desire to do, then it obviously means something to you, and you will have more motivation to do it and it will be easier to accomplish. 

3. Remember the list.

This is a no-brainer, but it's one of the main reasons why resolutions don't get completed. Write them down in your phone, so you can look at it often. You could even frame it like Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere (image above) did! 

4. Be specific with your resolutions and your plan to carry each of them out.

Instead of saying "I will work out more often," say "I will go to the gym Monday, Wednesday, and Friday" and have a workout plan that goes along with it. Also, if you're planning on losing a certain amount of weight, don't give yourself a x-amount to lose by 2013; make yourself a dream weight and a due date for each month so you aim be be that weight by a certain date. 

5. Publicize your resolutions (or at least the general idea).

Write them down in your blog (if you have one), share them with your friends, or share them with us! Whatever the method, if a third-party knows about a resolution, you are automatically more likely to carry them out. (I will share mine as soon as I am done thinking of them!)

Good luck with everything and happy 2012! 

-Julia