Quit Quitting: How To Stick To Your New Year’s Resolutions in 2022

1. Realize Your Resolutions

Every New Year’s Eve, millions of Americans resolve to make positive changes to themselves, their relationships, and their lives in the form of New Year’s Resolutions.

The most popular New Year's Resolutions have remained the same since the tradition began: to exercise, to lose weight, to get organized, to pursue a hobby, to save money, to quit smoking, to spend more time with friends and family, and to do things that make us happy.

Yet just like a new car driven off the lot, the minute a New Year’s Resolution is made, it starts to depreciate in value. According to a 2016 study, 41% of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions but only 9% feel they are successful in keeping them by the end of the year. Just two weeks after making their resolutions, 71% of Americans fail to keep them.

So, how do we not only make these resolutions, but keep them throughout the year?

2. Stick To It, Get Through It

If you’re like me, you set the bar high - often too high. When you inevitably fail to reach your lofty goal, you feel discouraged, and that discouragement spirals into apathy and even depression.

There are a few things I’ve learned over my life: one is that the smallest actions are worth more than the biggest words. And the other is: the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

The best trick to keeping your resolutions throughout the year is to be realistic and set resolutions you can achieve. Instead of saying “I’m going to work out for 3 hours every night,” start with a more realistic goal and work your way up. If you spend 1 hour working out every night and acclimating your body, your sessions will gradually get longer.

Another tip is to reward yourself - don’t just go Draconian. Instead of saying: “I am not going to eat junk food ever again,” change that to: “if I work out 5x this week, I’ll allow myself fast food on the weekend.” Just like that, you get to keep both the reward of the food and the reward of the work out.

With all resolutions, it’s time, and not timing, that makes the difference. If you dedicate a little time each day to reaching your goal, you’ll see the huge impact that following through and staying committed has on your ability to tackle challenges throughout life.

3. Learn Positive Affirmations for 2022

In 2022, The Rich Barber is committed to changing minds, bodies, and lives through positive affirmation, dedication, and willpower. Positive affirmations have been proven to increase well being, combat stress and depression, and forge new neural pathways in the brain.

Like prayer, positive affirmations rewire the brain on a cellular level, tricking it into mixing reality and fantasy and triggering hypothesized reward/valuation regions of the brain. Basically, by believing something to be true, you feel it is true.

Knowing this awesome power is in your grasp, what are some of the ways we can manifest new outcomes for our lives in 2022? What are some of the most useful affirmations to teach yourself?

The first and most simplest way to start affirming is to begin with your negative thoughts. Whenever you tell yourself “I can’t,” “I don’t,” or “I’m not,” simply invert those phrases. Instead of saying “I can’t be me,” simply say “I am me.” Instead of saying “I don’t have time,” say “I have time.”
As your thoughts begin to influence your reality, tailor your affirmations to tackle your uncertainties, anxieties, and insecurities. If the affirmations are too strong or positive, choose a neutral affirmation. Remember to choose affirmations that resonate with you and say them with pure conviction. Take time to practice these affirmations daily and watch your mental health improve.
4. Keep Resolving Your Resolutions

Now that we’ve made realistic resolutions with built-in rewards and are using positive affirmations to manifest our new lives, the final trick is simply to keep up your New Year’s resolutions throughout the year regardless of setbacks or failures.

If you sneak in a cheeseburger after your workout, don’t give up on working out. Acknowledge that you can do better and resolve to keep your goal moving forward. When I first started out in barbering, I resolved to become the best barber in the game, to have the most clients, and the most skill. While I’m closer to my goal than ever, I wasn’t able to keep that resolution in just one year.

Instead, I looked in the mirror and resolved to practice my craft every day, to learn from the legends of the past and respect my peers in the present. I’ve kept that resolution and that resolution is keeping me going. For 2022, no matter what resolution you make, make the resolution to stick with it.