Hello again and Happy New Year everyone.

So back to New Year's day, I think this is appropriate time for us to revisit the topic of New Year Resolution. 今天的節目里我們就再來談談 New Year Resolution.

In English New Year Resolution is a plan that you make on the first day of theNew Year or the beginning of the New Year that you wish to keep throughout the year.

基本上就是我們說的年初立的一個flag。我相信大家在年初多多少少都會立這樣那樣的flag. Did you know that on average, only 8% of people actually keep their new year's resolutions.

So if you didn't manage to keep last year's resolutions. Relax, it's very, very normal.

So each and every January we make all these big plans for the new year ahead, for example, I need to lose weight, going to the gym. And then you join a gym in the beginning of January. Usually people just give up in February.

So why then do we keep going around in circles? Why do we always try to make plans on the new year's day, only to give up these goals, perhaps in the following months.

Are there any ways to help us really live up to our New Year's Resolutions? That's what we're going to talk about today.

First of all, let's take a look at the most popular New Year's Resolutions people make, and then break.

Things include lose weight, get in shape, stop smoking or stop eating certain things, quit drinking, eat healthier, earn more money, read more books. Sound familiar? We've all made and quit at least one of these resolutions in the past.

The thing is I'm all for New Year's resolutions. And I do make them myself. This whole idea of starting anew is very tempting.

They also keep us more focused. The reason why we can't keep them, it's because we're often doing it the wrong way.

接下來璐璐和你一起看看，當我們立新年flag的時候，我們都踩過哪些常見坑？

First one, our goals are often unrealistic. Therefore, it's impossible for us to really reach these goals. For instance, people say, I need to lose 20 kg this year, or even 30 kg, which is very, very difficult to do in a year; or people saying I need to read a hundred books or 200 books, ignoring the fact that means one new book every two or three days. For someone who has a full time job and have family commitments, this is almost impossible.

And on top of that, we set too many targets at the same time. Instead of focusing on one, we're too greedy. We want to be thinner, prettier, younger. We wanna make more friends. We want to be more active. We want to make more money, all of these goals at the same time. The end result, most people will achieve nothing.

And the next problem for people who want to quit certain things, for example, quit smoking or quit drinking, sugary drinks. We want to try to go cold turkey on our habits. To go cold turkey means to quit completely. So say if you are a gamer, you love playing games. And your New Year resolution is I will play no games this year. Old habits die hard. If you don't gradually try to control yourself, then quitting cold Turkey will probably lead to you giving up this New Year resolution within a week.

And the next problem is that many people don't realize that new habits will take time to form. According to some experts, it takes about two months or even three months to really form a habit. And when you're trying to form a habit, you really need to do it non-stop.

And the last mistake we often make is we see new year's day as the only time to begin these plans. But in fact, every day offers us an opportunity to start afresh. So these are some of the common problems we share when it comes to making New Year resolution. But what should we do?

In the earlier episode about New Year resolution, I mentioned something called SMART. 2018年新年那一集，我們講過一個SMART原則。This means your plan needs to be specific 具體, measurable可量化, attainable 可以實現, relevant與你的其他人生目標有相關性, and time bound 有時間節點。

While that is still very valid, here are a few more tips to help us with our New Year resolution.

Tip number one-Start small.

Don't be too ambitious. Don't say I need to lose 20 kg this year. Just commit to being a little bit more active than you were yesterday. This really depends on your activity level now. If you have a very sedentary(久坐不動的) lifestyle, for example, you have no activity at all. You drive to work, and you take elevator. Starting by try to walk up the steps or start with a walk around your building. Next day, you can add a few more steps. For example, I started to swim again, I started off with swimming 800 meters a time. And then the following week or so I will add another hundred. So now I'm doing 1200 meters. And also when you try to form a new habit, focus on it. Don't try to form multiple habits at the same time. Remember, you can do anything, but not everything.

The second tip is be consistent.

Earlier on, we said it takes time about two months or so to form a new habit. Have you noticed when you're trying to do something and you stopped for a while? When you try to pick it up again? It always feels even more challenging. That's why when you're trying to form a new habit, it really pays to be consistent. In real life, we have so many excuses to keep us from being consistent. For example, you're too tired, it's too cold. There's a party going on. That's why we need to pick the battles we can actually win. To focus on smaller attainable targets.

Tip number three, have your vision board.

Remember your reasons. 英文里說到這個vision board，是個聽起來好像有點幼稚的事情。大家應該在《破產姐妹》里看到過，Caroline就是特別喜歡做這種vision board. Vision board is like an actual board. And then you write on it what you want to achieve, what kind of person you wanna be. 就是一個“夢想板”。Because when you're trying to form habit, you are likely to run into challenges. It always helps to keep in mind why you are doing it. And again, they need to be very specific. For example, I need to pass this exam, that's why I need to study a little bit every day, or I need to fit into this dress, that's why I need to exercise a bit more every day.

But even with all these efforts, they'll still be times that we break our promises or we just got a bit lazy. So tip number four is very important. Forgive yourself and start over.

I will be consistent until the day that I cannot. And then I just give up because I feel like I failed already. Actually, the best way to approach this is do not spend too much energy dwelling on them. 不要糾結于你一次的懶惰或者是所謂的失敗, pick yourself up and get back on track. If it helps, you can even say to yourself, I forgive you, it happens. Because New Year resolution is not now or never. Every day offers a new beginning. You can always start anew.

And tip number five is very important, because forming new habits is usually hard. We are probably doing things that we don't necessarily like doing. Our target seems so far away. Therefore it is extremely essential for us to celebrate small wins, 要慶祝這些階段性的勝利。

For instance, If you finish reading your first 10 books, give yourself a treat. Or if you manage to lose, say, 2 kg, buy yourself a new dress. Just make sure that your reward, your treat does not go against your original goal. For example, if you wanna lose weight, perhaps your reward shouldn't be a huge bar of chocolate. But to celebrate these small wins can give you positive reinforcement. 可以對你進行正向激勵。And positive reinforcement goes a long way. So hopefully you find today's episode helpful, because it certainly has given me some thoughts.

So to wrap up, I'm gonna share with you some of my new year solutions, and I have five of them.

First one, I would like to be more active in general exercise to feel good instead of fixating on weight loss.

Resolution number two, make an effort to talk to new people and stay more connected.

Resolution number three, set aside specific time every week to be offline and unplugged, because my life is so much online, I spent crazy amount of time on my devices. So I've decided to set aside perhaps a few hours every week to just get offline and unplug my devices.

Resolution number four, to spend more quality time with my family.

And the last but not least to be more grateful for what I have and for what people do for me, and to stop fixating on nasty and negative people and things in life.

So those were my New Year resolutions. What about yours? Share with us in the comment section. I can't wait to read your New Year resolution. See you next time. Bye.