It’s that time of year again, when Christmas is over and it’s time to ring in the new year. You are sitting in one of the best backpackers Sydney has to offer and are contemplating what resolutions you should be setting for yourself this year. Worried you are making promises to yourself you can’t keep? Check out our list of tips for making new years resolutions, and sticking to them:

Be Realistic

You need to be realistic in your resolutions. If you want to make a dramatic change, then give yourself milestones throughout the year to work towards. For instance, you can’t just say you are going to quit smoking and then go cold turkey new years day. It needs to be gradual.

Give Yourself the Tools

You need to give yourself the tools required to make your resolutions happen. For instance, find out ways for managing your cravings for cigarettes, or if you want to loose those extra 5 kilos you put on over Christmas, then get yourself a gym membership. Make a list of what you need to do, in order to keep your resolution to yourself.

A Few at a Time

If you make the mistake of having too many resolutions, it’s no wonder they are so difficult to keep. Aim to only have a few so that you can really focus on them. If your attention is on too many, it may feel overwhelming and you wont get a handle on any of them.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

You’re only human so try not to be so hard on yourself if you aren’t able to make your resolutions come true. Instead, focus on the positives, if you were able to make any changes at all, that’s great. Besides, there is always next year!

Don’t Make Resolutions You Can’t Keep

You’ll be setting yourself up to fail if your new years resolution is to stop drinking and the next three months you will be crossing the country partying with your friends. If your new years resolutions are like this, change them a little. Instead of eliminating things, minimise them. For instance if you’re likely to eat a block of chocolate in one sitting, aim to only eat one row.

Let Your Friends Know

You’re sharing your room in one of the best Sydney hostels on your stay with your besties. Let them know of your intentions in the new year. Whether that be to exercise more, go sky-diving or lose weight, if you let those around you know what you are doing, they can really help to support you, and give you the assistance you need to reach your goals so that this time next year, you’ll be feeling pretty proud with what you’ve achieved.

It’s all about making realistic promises and taking baby steps to make your resolutions come true. If you stay focused on the end result and take the above points into consideration, you’ll know doubt have something to be very proud of, this time next year.