How To Set Achievable New Year’s Resolutions

How to set realistic new year resolutions, that you will be able to accomplish and how to make 2021 your year. Setting goals that will make this new year, the one where your dreams come true.

** Check out the end of the post for a FREE printable 40 Before 40 Bucket list

Like me, I’m sure many of you have tried to accomplish various different goals, only to scrap them very quickly. It’s hard to see something through, to keep being consistent and persistent. I had many trials and errors, and over the years I’ve learned how to set goals that I can actually stand by and reach.

So what better time to start setting some new goals? With a rough and unpredictable year like 2020 coming to an end, we’re all more than excited and eager to start fresh with 2021. For this I have decided to share with you some steps that I take, and you could too, to help you set realistic and achievable resolutions.

8 steps to setting achievable resolutions

1. Set realistic goals

This might require you to face the ugly, and brutal truth. While I do believe that where there is a will, there is also a way… You can’t really do it all. You have to pick and choose the right ones for you, that are truly realistic. Your goals have to be what you truly want, what you’re good at. 

2. Start small, and gradually build up

Once you choose and decide what you want to focus on, you need to break it down into smaller, more achievable goals. 

For example: if I want to become a blogger, setting “become a blogger” as a goal is way too big. So instead, I will start off with “pick a blogging niche”, then “create a list of topics I want to write about”, or “start scheduling blog posts” – you need to break down your destination into stops and points along the journey to it.

3. Focus on things you actually excel at

We can’t all be good at everything, and we can’t be good at anything we want to be good at. If you stretch yourself too thin, you won’t only break very quickly, you also won’t manage to be good at any of it. It’s better to be super good at one thing, than mediocre in a bunch of things. So you have to choose which one you really want, and which one you are the best at – and then go for it. Maybe someone down the line, you can add on, once you’ve already got it down and locked in. but to start off, you need to focus only on one or two things that you excel at.

4. Also, make sure it’s something you love

If you’re good at it, but don’t love it – then you also won’t be able to keep it up for long. And if you do, you’ll probably be miserable. Personally, I’d rather make less money and work at a place I enjoy getting up in the morning for. Than make more money, but have to drag myself out of bed for it. If it’s something you love and enjoy, your quality of life will be so much better and higher, no matter how much money you make. 

5. Balance between small and big goals

Like many aspects of life, balance is key to setting great and achievable resolutions. So when you set your new year’s resolutions, make sure to vary between big ones and small ones. Also, make sure that there’s enough variety, so you don’t feel like there’s too much repetition, and you get bored and give up.

6. Maintain a diverse schedule

In addition to setting a variety of goals, you also have to make sure that your whole schedule is also diverse. When you plan your day, week, month or year, make sure to plan it in such a way that you don’t do just one thing for too long. You want to alternate between different projects and tasks. 

7. Make time for yourself and loved ones

If you want to be consistent, and to not get too jaded too quickly – it’s important to schedule some breaks. Make sure to not only do things you love, to combine some hobbies into your schedule, but also take some breaks here and there where you just wind down. Also, make sure to stay in touch with your loved ones and make time to see them and do some fun activities with them.

8. Write it all down

As silly and simple as this may sound, I found that more often than not – when I write my goals and dreams down – black upon white… They have more of a chance to come true. It gives your goals a tangible presence, makes them real and is the first step to set them out to the world. So write them down, then shout them out to the world.

My new years resolutions, to make 2021 my year

1. Make an impact with my blog

Don’t we all want to make some kind of impact, leave a mark in this world. I’ve always had a dream to make a change, to help people better their life, and ever since I started this blog, I’ve wanted to make that change through it. I’m still at the beginning stages, and it’s definitely not easy or simple. It takes so much time, patience and perseverance. But even if I help just one or two people, that is enough for me. Because change is change, no matter how small.

2. Move to London – make new experiences

For me it’s London, but it can be any other place in the world you desire. I think it can be a nice change of pace, especially for all you fellow creators out there. Living in a new environment, discovering new and exciting places, having new adventures. In my humble opinion, we all need to experience living in a different place, at least once in our lifetime. I mean, there’s a whole world out there, it’s such a shame to just live in one place for your whole life. 

3. Start making a solid income from blogging

My biggest dream has always been to be a novelist, and it still is – but these past few months, since I started my blog… I really feel like I have found my true calling. And who of us doesn’t want to make their calling a career, to make money from their absolute favourite thing they want to do forever? If I can make money from writing, no matter what kind, I will be happy. But I would definitely give it my all this year, to make blogging a fruitful career.

4. Finish writing my novel

We all have that project that we put on our back-burner for a long time, always intending to get back to it, but never actually doing it. For me, it’s a half written novel, collecting dust on my computer. I’m not sure exactly what it is, because I know exactly what I want to write and how to finish it. But something is holding me back, and with this new year ahead of me, I hope to finally get back to it, and get it done. I hope that you all finally manage to get back to your own back-burner projects.

5. Get back in shape

Well, isn’t this just a classic one? I’m a huge believer in staying in shape and eating healthy. You don’t have to go all crazy over it, or dedicate too much time and effort. Schedule as much as you can, and as much that is good for you, that you know you can keep up with. I’ve always loved working out, but it’s always the first steps that are the hardest. Once I get into it, it becomes much easier and feels less like a burden. But it’s so super important, to take care of our bodies and make sure that we are nice and strong.

6. Travel & write

When I first started my @mblwrites IG account, I was planning on turning it into a travel blog page. Because I love writing, I’ve always loved traveling – so why not combine the two? It seemed like an amazing opportunity. Unfortunately, the idea came to me when we were deep into the very first lockdown, with already for a second. So traveling any time soon, probably not so much. But hopefully 2021 will give me the opportunity to start travel writing, and give you any opportunity you wanted and was prevented because of 2020.

7. Reconnect with friends

Unfortunately 2020 has hindered and weakened some of my friendships, due to the social distancing and lockdowns. We couldn’t go out, visit each other and most places were closed. Staying in touch over the phone is also very difficult, especially for people like me, who hate talking on the phone. It’s just not the same. We tried some video calls, but again – it’s not the same and the connection is never 100%. So I hope that 2021 is the year when we get to mend all that, and make up for all the lost time.

Take these resolutions and just go for it! Split them up into stops along the path, all the way to the final destination!

So here’s to 2021 being the year we all reconnect, the year when we get back to it with full force. 2020 may have been a mess, may have faced us with the fear of the unknown and much more – but it was also an opportunity to pause, and reflect. It was the chance to slow things down and look within ourselves and now we can head into 2021 with full force, and no excuses. Or at least less excuses. 

Happy New Year, and may this one be a truly great one, with many more to follow.

** CLICK HERE for my FREE printable 40 Before 40 Bucket List!

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay strong!
Michal B.L.

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