How Teens Can Make (and Keep) New Year’s Resolutions

Are you ready? It’s time for the New Year’s countdown!

10, 9 – Get your glass of bubbly cider and party horn ready!

8, 7 – Who am I going to kiss? (Some years, it was just my cat. #noshame)

6, 5 – Hey, is there more dip?

4, 3 – Dang it, I should have already opened Instagram!

2, 1 – Wait, what are my resolutions for this year??

Happy New Year!

New Year’s is always a magical time of year. Hope for the future, a late night with friends and family, fireworks, the ball dropping in Times Square, singing in groups (how often does THAT happen??). And those New Year’s Resolutions.

Ah yes, New Year’s resolutions. I love the idea of a fresh start. You can start a new day and be a new person – all the bad habits go away and are replaced by ones that make you healthier and happier.

That is if you pick the right resolutions and follow through on them. Picking the wrong resolutions or not creating a plan to achieve those resolutions means just another year of the same old, same old.

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How Teens Can Make (and Keep) New Year’s Resolutions

Picking New Year’s Resolutions

Sometimes it can be hard to pick New Year’s Resolutions and other times it’s as obvious as the weight on your scale. Think about your current pain points: grades, organization, relationships with family and friends, physical or mental health, etc.

What can you change about those current problems? (Just a reminder: you can’t change how other people behave, but you do have control over your actions.) Those changes are your resolutions. If you’re still stuck, see my suggestions below and my post on goal-setting.

Keeping New Year’s Resolutions

The hardest part of resolutions, though, is making them stick. In fact, most people don’t follow through with their resolutions. There are a few keys though:

1. Make a plan to attain your new habit. It helps to only attempt one or two at a time, otherwise, you will get overwhelmed. I recommend picking the most important resolution first.
2. Commit to your resolution for at least a month. That means every day, no matter what. Even the days you don’t feel like it. This is when a habit tracker comes in handy.
3. Tell others about your resolution and how you plan on achieving it. Telling others builds in accountability.
4. Reward yourself for maintaining your new habit! We respond really well to rewards. Just don’t bankrupt yourself by choosing expensive rewards! 

Resolution Suggestions

Use a planner

I know that I harp on this all the time (here and here), but using a planner is truly the single best change you can make to your organization. Knowing your time is so vital to every other change you can make. I recommend that you pick up an Order Out of Chaos planner – it doesn’t matter that the school year is half over.

Get some dang sleep

Out society is very focused on being busy all the time, which explains why we are getting less and less sleep. But that has so many bad effects on your body, your health, and learning. Your body AND brain need regular sleep. And you can’t “make up” for lost sleep on the weekend – it doesn’t work that way.

Set academic and personal goals

You know that kid who always seemed to know what he was going to do in the future and then achieved it? He had goals and relentlessly worked toward them. And you can, too. Setting personal and academic goals will help you decide how to spend your precious, precious time. For more information on goal setting, read this post.

Be kind

Be kind to others and be kind to yourself. I am a judger – I see someone in a strange outfit and my first thought is usually, “Yikes! What was she thinking?” But I am working very hard to change that. My second thought these days is, “She looks happy in that outfit. Go girl!” I’m also trying to extend that courtesy to myself. Our inner critic is often much harsher than any person on the street.

Exercise

Just as sleep is important for health and well-being, so is exercise. Your body was made to move, not sit in a chair all day. Start moving it already. I’m not into crazy Crossfit, but I do exercise every day, usually by walking. My body and mind always feel better afterward. And that’s how I listen to so many darn podcasts in a week!

Build more experiences

You can’t live your life behind your phone screen. You need to get out there and do stuff. Start small – take a walk around your neighborhood and work up to climbing Mt. Everest. Join a club or two to meet new people. Visit the tourist destinations in your town – chances are you’ve never even been before! Invite friends over to make dinner.  Bonus – real experiences make you a more interesting person.

I’ve got tons of experience ideas in this post!

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Real experiences make you a more interesting person.” quote=”Real experiences make you a more interesting person.”]

Here’s to a happier and healthier New Year – complete with some amazing resolutions! If you haven’t grabbed the FREE workbook, click below and get started!

What are your resolutions? Let me know in the comments below! 

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Related Posts: New Year’s Quotes to Get You Motivated, How Teens Can Get Organized for the New Year, Daily Habits for Teens to Start in the New Year