The Single Secret for Keeping a New Year's Resolution

Sticking With Your New Year's Resolution

A new year is approaching, and if you are like many individuals, you are half-heartedly planning what your resolution for the coming year will be. The sad truth of this yearly tradition is that 92% of those who make a resolution won’t keep it past February. Don’t lose heart. You only need one tip to help you keep your resolution. Speaking of making plans for the new year, if you are looking to save money, you only need to make one phone call to an HVAC contractor in Sonoma and Marin County to keep your heating and air condition in the best working condition.

​Abandon Grand Plans for Simple Steps

Your New Year’s Resolution only needs one thing to be successful— simplicity. Numerous studies have found that the high expectations and complexities of resolutions are what makes them so difficult to keep. Keeping your resolutions simple and easy to manage gives you a better probability of sticking with them. This doesn’t mean you set hopelessly low goals. It means breaking down your grand plans into simple, manageable steps.

Your goal (for the third year in a row) may be to lose weight. When stated like that, it is an arbitrary goal without any real action steps or desired results. This can lead to several fruitless or inconsistent attempts to get the scale to move. A better resolution would be to restate your goal more specifically. “I will avoid using the elevator and take the stairs whenever I can” is a viable way to put your resolution into motion.

Realize While Simple Is Smarter

Choosing a simpler path for your New Year’s resolution isn’t something to be ashamed of. Breaking your resolution into smaller pieces makes it the best resolution for the following reasons:

1. Simple resolutions are more realistic, which makes it easier to believe that you can attain them.
2. Simple resolutions don’t lend themselves well to procrastination since small steps are easier to take. Once you get started in the right direction, it is more likely that you can keep moving forward and taking additional steps until you reach your goal.
3. Simple resolutions have more emotional highs than complex, time-consuming ones. It is demotivating to work hard for weeks or months on end without having noticeable results to brag about. Small goals and simple expectations are easier to accomplish, bringing emotional highs with each small victory achieved. These small wins can bring the motivation needed to help you continue moving forward.
4. Simple resolutions become training to achieve even bigger goals. Once you get used to increasing your exercise or activity level, you develop the energy and motivation that move on to other related activities like changing your diet or running several miles a week. You also train your mind to break down larger goals that you have in life into steps that you are more confident in taking.

You don’t need to get bogged down with your resolutions for the new year. By keeping things simple, you can get going in the right direction. For more information on cost savings measures of caring for your HVAC unit, contact the Next Level Heating and Air Conditioning team at 707-228-9921.