Consistency vs Instant Gratification: 4 Tips to Help Build Habits in the New Year That Last
With the start of a new year, comes the start of new goals, ambitions, and new plans to make change. From teens setting new academic goals such as “get better grades in 2025” to adults setting new-year’s work goals, including “waking up earlier” or “make more money”, the concept surrounding these goals is to embrace and begin a new healthy habit that internally or externally, will enhance our lives. The struggle with New Year goals is that they often do not stick. We are often left with the “Why couldn’t I just stick to this?”, “I will just try again next year”. These thoughts often lead to feelings of shame, guilt, or avoidance of tackling what went array with our plans.
Consistency is one missing link to the completion of many of these short-term and long-term goals. Most goals take time to achieve and they require small tasks, accountability, and patience. Goals that are worth achieving often require effort, time, and most of all, trial and error.
These factors often remove the ability for instant gratification; a theme that kids, teens, and adults rely on heavily to feel motivation or success. While instant gratification for short-term goals is great, building habits for the new year and having something to look forward to for long-term goals can increase tolerance for delayed gratification. Additionally, building consistency can reinforce skills that help build new habits that stick around for the long haul.
Here are 4 tips to help build tolerance for delayed gratification, increase consistency, and enjoy the long-term benefits of the goals that we set that can turn into habits for the new year:
Set a S.M.A.R.T. goal.
Setting Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound goals helps build actionable steps to support accountability in achieving the goal. For example, instead of setting a goal of “I want to get good grades”, a smart goal would look like the following:
Specific
I would like to get a 3.5 GPA in my math class this semester
Measurable
I will need to get a grade of 80 or above on every test and HW assignment for the rest of the semester.
Attainable
I will attend every class, take notes in class every day, and attend extra help tutoring sessions the day before every math test.
Realistic
Is math tutoring available every day before the test? Is attending every day realistic? Or do you need to start with 80% attendance? Be realistic!
Time-Bound
By the end of the semester
This formula helps break down goals into smaller tasks that are easier to track for consistency!
Build a routine
Doing something every single day for at least 5 minutes helps build a habit! Start small and be realistic. Stay consistent with something that feels easy to start. For example, if
your goal is to start a hygiene routine in the mornings, can you start by adding one new hygiene routine to your already existing routine? This could mean adding *wash your face* after you brush your teeth every day.
Have an accountability buddy!
Whether this accountability is a person or an app, we all need extra support to keep us on track. If you are a teenager and need accountability going to class, ask a friend that you know never misses that specific class to walk with you to class. Use an app if a friend or family member is not available to be accountable for your goal! Set a timer on your phone that goes off before class starts.
Habit Stacking with Positive Reinforcement
Stack your new goal or desired behavior onto a habit or behavior that already exists and is flourishing! For example, if your goal is to work out every day and you already walk daily, add 5 minutes of jogging to your walk! Stack the successful behavior with a new behavior to help build consistency.
Goals are great tools for building motivation. Consistency helps us maintain motivation, and that is the ultimate goal. As the new year carries on, remember to have some grace for yourself and to set an intention for your goal. Habits take time, and consistency will build habits that help us stay
in maintenance mode rather than instant gratification mode. Start small! Take these little steps and apply them to one area in your life. Whether this is school, personal, or work, you got this!
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