How To Form New Habits And Actually Stick To Your New Year's Resolutions

There's a visible increase of gym memberships sign ups in January, and that's not the only place where people are buckling down to create new habits. This is the time of year when many people start a new diet, try meditation for the first time, start drinking more water, etc. There's an indescribable excitement that comes with the new year; there's just so much to look forward to. But that motivation you feel in January is guaranteed to fade. I've been a weight-loss coach and trainer for the better part of a decade, and I always tell my clients that it's pointless to rely on feelings. And at the end of the day, that motivation you feel in January is really nothing more than a fleeting feeling that is going to fade come February or March.

However, that doesn't mean you should give up on your goals. You just have to be smart about how you're planning to reach those goals. You can't just rely on feeling inspired or excited. You have to create a system for yourself that will carry you through those moments when you just don't feel like going to the gym or cooking a healthy meal—because trust me, you will eventually get to the point where you have zero motivation to do any of those healthy habits that you were excited to do in the first week of January. Environment and habits play a much bigger role in your longterm success than willpower and motivation. So let's map out a way for you to create the right environment for you to succeed in 2025. Here are some actionable tips for you to work on.

1. Create Realistic, Specific Goals

The common New Year's resolutions are to workout more, to eat healthier, to manage stress better, etc. These are all great places to start, but you aren't going to find success if your goal isn't sharp enough. For example, just telling yourself you want to workout more in 2025 isn't going to cut it. You have to be realistic and specific about this fitness resolution. To start, be honest with yourself about how often you're working out right now. If you don't workout at all right now, it's not realistic to tell yourself that you're going to workout 5 days a week. You have to start with a goal that is attainable, like committing to just 2-3 sessions a week. If you don't set realistic goals for yourself, you're going to fail—and that's going to derail your whole 2025 resolution and make you just want to give up.

You can't just rely on feeling inspired or excited.

This requires you to be honest with yourself from the beginning. Want to drink more water in 2025? Be honest about how much water you drink normally right now. Want to meditate more in 2025? Be honest about how much you're meditating right now. From there, you can set realistic goals that will set you up for success. Furthermore, being specific is the only way for you to make sure you're on the right track. Don't just tell yourself you want to cook more often. Set out a number of meals you want to cook each week so you have a certain goal to attain to every month. This is why it's important to write down all your resolutions. They shouldn't just be floating around in your head. I recommend writing them down in a notebook or journal and also placing a sticky note somewhere in your home that you look at often, such as your fridge or your mirror.

2. Make Incremental Goalposts Throughout the Year

You've made realistic, specific goals for yourself. Now it's time to hone in and make incremental goalposts for the rest of the year that you can work toward and look forward to. Here's an example of how to do that. Let's go back to the example of wanting to workout more in 2025. If you're someone who only works out once a week on average right now, it's reasonable to aim for 2-4 workouts each week for the remainder of this year. But let's get even more specific than that. From January to May, commit to working out 2-3 times a week. From May to September, increase that goal to 3-4 times a week. From September to December, aim for 4-5 workouts per week.

These incremental goals will help you stay on track and keep you accountable. It will also ensure you're making visible improvements throughout the whole year and not just seeing growth in the first couple months of 2025. This same formula can be applied to any other resolution you may have, such as drinking less alcohol or eating more protein. Sit down and map out what the next 12 months are going to look like, because you want your success to continue long past January ends.

That's where habit stacking comes into play.

3. Habit Stack

Now here's the million dollar question: how do you actually get a new habit to stick? It takes about 30 days for a new habit to sink into the brain and become like second nature. But it's all about how you function during those 30 days and how you set yourself up to adopt a new habit. That's where habit stacking comes into play. That's when you start with one habit you do every day, like second nature, without having to think about it—brushing your teeth, showering, changing out of your work clothes when you come home, etc. These are the types of habits that you don't ever have to think about. They just happen every day because your brain is used to doing them no matter what.

Let's say you want to start drinking 100 ounces of water a day. In order to reach that goal, you have to start drinking water first thing in the morning. I've had many clients in the past who just don't really like drinking water, so we turn to habit stacking. Every morning, you brush your teeth. So before you go to bed, fill up your water bottle and place it right next to your toothbrush in your bathroom. In the morning when you go to brush your teeth, drink the water either right before or right after you brush your teeth. That makes it easier for your brain to pick up on a new habit because it's just attaching something new to something that is very familiar. Keep this up for 30 days and before you know it, you'll be reaching for that water in the morning without even having to think about it.

Another example is going for a walk every day. If you're someone who likes to go for a walk after you get home from work, as soon as you get home you take your shoes off, right? So place your walking shoes right next to the spot in your home where you take your work shoes off. As soon as you remove them, slip on your walking shoes and just go straight outside for a walk. These are all just suggestions though; you'll have to find a way to habit stack on your own, depending on your goal, your daily schedule, your already established habits, etc.

4. Set up an Accountability Partner

It's way harder to do it alone. Some people are able to succeed all by themselves, but trust me when I tell you that your chances of succeeding are much, much higher if you ask for help from others. Ask a friend, your boyfriend or husband, or family member for support. Tell them what your goals are and lay it all out on the table. Ask them if they're willing to support you, check in on you, and listen to your updates. If you have someone to answer to and report to, you'll be much more likely to actually do the things on your list.

It's way harder to do it alone.

That's why it also helps to join an online (or in-person) community of women who are on a similar path of self-improvement. These are the women who will encourage you and give you a boost of confidence when you're at your lowest, because there will certainly come a time when you'll want to throw in the towel. And when you share your specific, realistic, incremental goals with your accountability partner, they can help you keep track of everything on your plate and hold you true to your word.

Closing Thoughts

Although it's exciting, it can be daunting to start a brand new year with new goals. There is no such thing as perfection, so just commit to being consistent and showing up every single day—especially on the days you don't want to be there. I always tell my clients: don't let yourself have two "bad days" in a row. Did you have an off day? That's okay, we all have those. Just pick yourself back up the next morning and get back on track, no matter what!