As 2022 comes to an end, many of us will be thinking of our New Year’s Resolutions, challenges and goals for 2023. At New Kings Coffee we like to take a moment to reflect on the new year, what we have achieved in the last 12 months, and where we would like to take our small business going forward.

Setting a New Year’s Resolution is not a difficult task, but actually achieving it is entirely different. At New Kings Coffee we’ve been thinking hard about how to make our goals ambitious, but still attainable, and we thought we’d share our tips and tricks with you for making (and keeping) New Year’s Resolutions. 

1. Pick a big goal, with little steps along the way

Everyone wants an ambitious New Year’s Resolution, but you have to have a practical way of achieving it. We are all for shooting for the moon, but if you’re constantly facing setback after setback, it’s unlikely you’ll achieve what you set out to do. Start with a bigger goal (such as ‘run a half marathon’) and then figure out how you’re going to get there. You might want to run three times a week in January, then run 5km by March, then 15km by July and so on. If you set smaller targets, you are far more likely to reach your eventual goal.

Another point here is to not set too many resolutions. If you have 20 goals for 2023, it’s unlikely you’ll find the time and space to work towards meeting them in a practical way. Focus on a handful of goals to ensure you maximise your chances of reaching them. 

2. Ask yourself if you truly want it and if the goals are good for you

When setting your New Year’s Resolution, make sure it’s something you truly want to achieve. There are plenty of goals that will make you look good, but if you don’t truly want them it’ll be difficult to find the motivation to achieve them. For example, you might want to get into the trendy crossfit world. That is awesome – crossfit is a great form of exercise – but it’s a big commitment and is tough. If you’re not really into crossfit and you’re just doing it for the street cred, it’s highly unlikely you’ll stick to it. Be careful around health-oriented goals that come from a place of insecurity. These are likely to do more harm than good. Goals that only feel like punishment aren’t worth achieving. 

3. Make sure you check in along the way and keep track

Keep score of your smaller targets and the achievements you make along the way. This could be by keeping a journal or log of all the times you’ve hit targets or worked towards your resolution, or it could be as simple as just keeping notes in your calendar. You’ll find that before long you’ll have an impressive catalogue of all the steps you’ve taken – and you’ll find it harder to give up. 

4. Accountability

It can be pretty hard to be a self-starter, and everyone needs a bit of encouragement along the way. Join forces with a friend and make your resolutions together. This way when the journey gets difficult, you’ll be able to lean on each other for support. It feels amazing to have someone who understands what you’re going through!

If you don’t have a friend who is willing to join in, strangers also work! There are plenty of societies and groups who focus on loads of different areas of interest. Look on Google or social media and you’re more than likely to find a group who will help you reach your goals. For example, if your New Year’s Resolution is to read more, you could hop onto Instagram to look for local accounts that post book recommendations. Alternatively, you could seek out your local book club. These are sure fire ways to support yourself in reaching your goals.

5. Work out what motivates you

It’s best to work with your motivation rather than against it. You’ll find the journey to reaching your goals is a lot smoother if you’re not fighting yourself along the way. For example, don’t schedule time to work towards your resolutions in the early morning if you are not a morning person. Figure out when you feel motivated and inspired and use this to your advantage. If your New Year’s Resolution is to see more live music, figure out what days work best and when you feel most motivated. Is it on the weekend? During the week? You might find you’re the kind of person who needs to schedule things far in advance to make sure you do them, or you might prefer doing things spontaneously.

Reaching your goals can be expensive, there may be tickets, equipment and so on that you need to purchase. Figure out when you are happiest to spend money on these things. Is it straight after pay day? Towards the end of the month when you know your budget is looking safe? Listening to all these factors makes it far more likely you’ll keep ticking off your resolutions. 

6. Don’t punish yourself

As everyone who has ever had a New Year’s Resolution will tell you, it doesn’t always go to plan. Sometimes life is just too crazy and your busy schedule gets in the way. We feel the biggest reason people don’t fulfil their New Year’s Resolutions is because when the first failure comes along, they feel disheartened and give up. It’s especially hard when you feel like you are the reason behind your failure. People tend to say things to themselves like ‘this is typical for me’ and ‘I knew it was going to go this way’. With this in mind, make an effort not to punish yourself when things don’t go to plan.

Stick to the ‘two day’ rule – it’s okay to miss a day and not feel bad about it, but try your best not to let yourself miss two.

Remember, the story of how you achieved your goals wouldn’t be a great one if it was an easy ride the whole way through. You are WAY more likely to succeed if you allow yourself to make mistakes and keep reminding yourself of all the progress you’ve made so far.

So from us at New Kings Coffee, happy New Year! We hope it is a great one.