Good resolutions: 32% of the Dutch have them for the new year. Only 8% of these millions of people keep them. After a while, motivation gives way to resignation and your resolution is put on the back burner. In this blog we would like to share 8 tips to help you keep your resolutions.

Your good intention, where does it go wrong?

The fact that good intentions fail for 92% of people has a reason. In fact, for most people who want to change, the setting of the brain remains the same. So do their patterns. Even more than you yourself may think, your daily actions are determined by the programming of your subconscious system. You do what you do because it is embedded in your brain. Therefore, before you try to change your own patterns, it is essential to learn how to better control your brain.

So are good intentions meaningless?

Of course, there is still nothing wrong with good intentions. However, it is important to realize that they can only succeed if you are willing to work on yourself (and thus your own brain). Besides, you can start structurally changing your life on any given day. It doesn't necessarily have to be on January 1. That you pick this moment is because everyone else does. It is simply the habit that is established in your brain.

8 tips to keep your resolution.

1. Formulate your "why.

Good resolutions only work if they are close to yourself. For example, earning more is an excellent resolution, but not so that you can then drive the expensive car that your colleague also has. Your resolution must be based on a deep intrinsic desire. For example, you want to earn more so you can move with your little daughter to a better neighborhood and give her better opportunities in life. Actually, then, improving your child's life is the higher goal. Earning more is just the means. Always reduce your good intentions to your deepest why. That way the fire of your motivation will keep burning even after January 1.

2. Visualize your good intention

A good intention is more than a phrase you mutter to yourself on New Year's Eve with your mouth full of doughnuts. Your goal must be so clear that you can see, feel, hear and smell it in your mind, down to the smallest details. We also call this technique visualization. Visualization makes your brain accept your intention as a new reality after a while. That makes the adjustment process easier.

Read more about the power of visualization here.

3. Write down your good intention

Remembering your good intentions is not enough. Even typing them out on an A4 sheet or to-do list does not give the best results. By hand works much better, several studies conclude. When you connect the letters of words with a pen, your brain is engaged more than during typing (in the latter, you only select letters instead of creating them yourself).

4. Temper your expectations

Your goals may be challenging, but make sure they are realistic. Do you have a resolution to lose eight pounds in January? Then it's a big blow when the scales show a weight loss of "only" two kilos after 14 days. The temptation to stop dieting is great, because "it's no use anyway". Therefore, temper your expectations and set small and realistic subgoals. You are more likely to achieve them, which also keeps your motivation higher. Success tastes like more!

5. Be patient

Realize that it takes time to learn a new habit. Experts speak of an average habituation time of at least 30 to 60 days. After that, the habit is integrated into your life and you carry it out without thinking about it.

6. Improve your circumstances

Some things in your environment are so normal that they are almost taken for granted. Pontifically in front of the couch in your living room, for example, is a large television. Yet you wonder why you have so much trouble Netflixing less at night. The answer is obvious: You're making it too hard on yourself. The more temptations lurking around you, the harder it is to keep up your good intentions.

So organize your environment smarter and replace that remote control on the sofa armrest with that one book you've always wanted to read. Also remove that Netflix app from your phone and tune the remaining apps to your good intentions.

7. Get your surroundings on board

With support from your partner, friends and others, keeping your resolutions is a lot easier. You can count on words of encouragement when you get down on your own. Stating your goals also brings with it a little extra responsibility. After all, after 14 days you don't want to have to explain why you have already abandoned your resolutions. That bit of social pressure makes you less likely to give up.

8. Make interim adjustments

The road to the top is not always straight. Due to circumstances, you often run into resistance in the interim in keeping your good intention. The trick is not to give up and to adjust where necessary.

The path to it may change, as long as your good intentions remain.

What resolution are you pursuing in the coming year?