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3. Sticking to New Year Resolutions: Tips for 2025

We’re a month into 2025, and it’s make-or-break time for many of those ambitious New Year resolutions we set during the heady, optimistic, mulled wine-marinated holidays back in early January. Like many of you, the RAW Adventures team often make resolutions that involve outdoor activities, events and challenges.

No matter how many times we climb Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and explore Eryri (Snowdonia), there is always more to see, do, learn and experience, so the mountain and surrounding area feature heavily in our resolutions.

While we by no means fulfil all our resolutions, we have learned a thing or two about how to stick to your resolutions throughout the year – particularly when they involve walking, trail running and other mountain-related goals. With this in mind, we wanted to share a few tips and tricks we’ve picked up over the years in the hope that they will help you achieve your 2025 goals.

1. Don’t try to do too much

Starting the new year with a long list of resolutions may seem like a great way to motivate yourself and make 2025 one to remember, but most people tend to benefit from a bit more of a focused approach. Achieving one or two resolutions is much more satisfying than getting part of the way there on five or six, so we recommend whittling down your resolutions until you have a more condensed list.

Sometimes, you may be able to fold one resolution into another. For instance, your resolution to go for a long walk every weekend could become part of your summit Yr Wyddfa resolution. After all, if your goal is to climb the mighty Welsh peak for the first time, you will need to train.

By narrowing your list down to one or two key resolutions, you focus your efforts, making it easier to follow through on them and ensuring you don’t spread yourself too thin.

2. Make goals specific and achievable

In the same vein, make your resolutions specific and achievable. If you are into personal development and productivity techniques or have experience in academia or the business world, you’ve probably heard of the SMART framework. We use it to set effective goals and make achieving them more likely. According to the framework, goals should be:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

So, what does that mean in reality? Say your main aim is to get out walking and enjoy nature regularly. It’s a great idea. But it’s also a little vague. What constitutes regularly? Does a walk in the park count as enjoying nature? It may do, but it’s not exactly clear. Using the SMART framework, you could rewrite your goal as – go for 10 3-hour walks in Eryri over the next year. This meets all the SMART criteria, making it easier to plan and achieve your resolution.

3. Create a plan

For us, planning how you will achieve your resolution is one of the most enjoyable parts of the goal-setting process. Planning is an opportunity to get buzzing for your goal and build the momentum that will carry you deeper into the year. It’s a chance to do research – to get the maps out, dig out your walking guides, explore routes and adventures, and learn about new skills you may need.

As well as helping to prepare for your goal, it gives you lots of little things to look forward to along the way and throughout 2025. And isn’t that what New Year resolutions are really about? Getting excited for the year ahead and all it may contain?

When planning, break your main goal down into smaller steps. Think about what you need to do to achieve your resolution, whether that’s committing to a regular training routine, developing new skills, joining a local community group or simply building your confidence in certain environments. Identifying the smaller steps that lead to your ultimate goal makes it seem less daunting and helps you measure your progress.

As you tick off each step, you can see yourself getting closer and closer to completion.

4. It’s easier together

Whether you call it accountability or (positive) peer pressure, finding someone or a group of people to share your goal or journey with is a great way of helping you stay on track. If you’re supposed to be heading out on a long hike on a bitterly cold Sunday morning, you’re much less likely to switch off the alarm, roll over and stay in bed if someone is counting on you to turn up.

Your friends may not share your passion for the outdoors or your drive to fulfil challenging New Year’s resolutions. If that’s the case, consider a local walking group or similar community club. It’s a great way to meet people who share your interest and these groups often organise cool activities and introduce you to new routes or events you would otherwise never hear of. Alternatively, check out our sister company Climb Snowdon’s Guided Group Walks. Led by a professional guide, they are open to everyone, enabling you to introduce yourself to fellow walkers while enjoying the wonders of Yr Wyddfa.

5. Learn new skills to achieve your resolution

The learning process is one of the most enjoyable aspects of working towards a long-term goal. There’s something very fulfilling and satisfying about picking up new knowledge and abilities. While the learning process could involve developing your understanding of a particular region (reading about Eryri, its history and its modern landscape), it can also involve learning new skills.

At RAW Adventures, teaching new skills is one of our favourite parts of the job. Our Winter Skills courses are attended by a remarkably diverse range of people, most of whom have a shared aim. They want to develop the skills required to safely adventure out into mountain landscapes during the winter months, when the conditions are most challenging. Many of them are working towards bigger goals, such as scaling a 4,000+ metre peak, while others just want to be able to enjoy the UK’s higher ground all year round.

6. Routine and habit are your friends

If you’re serious about your resolution, embrace routine and harness the power of habit. Integrating your resolution into your weekly routine means it becomes part of your everyday life and isn’t just this monumental challenge that grows intimidatingly closer as you move through the year. Forming positive habits makes it easier to stay consistent and encourages long-lasting change.

As your resolution becomes habit, you have to rely less on willpower to get you through. Instead, your training, preparation or chosen activity is an accepted part of your regular routine.

7. Track and document your progress

As you progress through the year and work towards your resolution, make sure you document how it’s going. For some people, this will mean writing a journal, taking photos and recording thoughts and feelings and highlights and lowlights. For others (perhaps the more athletically-oriented among you), it may involve recording every activity on Strava and keeping track of your performance and PBs.

Either way, having something to look back on is a great way to motivate yourself when you need a boost. Likewise, it shows that you are making real progress. Finally, it’s also a reminder that achieving your resolution is just as much about the process as it is the ultimate goal.

8. Stay flexible and be kind to yourself

As much as routine and habit are an essential part of working towards a challenging goal, so is staying flexible, recognising that we all need a break sometimes, and listening to your own body and emotions. Many excellent New Year resolutions are left unfulfilled because of burnout and an approach that sees people start too strong, refuse to take a break or be flexible, and then abandon the effort.

In reality, your resolution has to exist alongside your everyday life. There will be times when you feel too unwell to go out for a long walk, occasions when you prefer to hang out with friends rather than climb a mountain, and afternoons when you just want to lie on the sofa and watch a movie. Weddings, work commitments and family events will interrupt your preparation. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Work around these obstacles and be kind to yourself.

9. Open up to regular inspiration

The best New Year resolutions inspire you throughout the year. But you also need to be open to inspiration and seek it out. You can find it in adventure novels, documentaries, podcasts and other people or events.

It could be something that puts a twist on your chosen activity or resolution and gives it focus. For instance, if your resolution revolves around doing a set number of long walks in a year, you could theme the routes around local history and visit historical sites. Or you could incorporate your interest in wildlife photography by creating a photobook and researching other wildlife photographers.

10. Enjoy the adventure!

Finally, the single most effective way of ensuring you stick to your New Year resolutions is by enjoying the adventure and having a good time. Resolutions can be hard work. But they can also be a lot of fun. Don’t tie yourself into something you hate, give yourself a positive goal that sets you up for a great 2025.

Embrace an adventurous 2025 with RAW Adventures

RAW Adventures is here to help you get 2025 off to a fantastic start, offer you plenty of opportunities to explore gorgeous Eryri landscapes and support your New Year resolution efforts. Whether you’re interested in our Winter Skills Course or Climb Snowdon’s Guided Group Walks, get in touch today and book yourself a place on one of our excellent events.