How to Keep Your Resolutions on Track

Every year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions, hoping to spark positive change. The recurring themes each year include a more active approach to health and fitness, improved finances, and learning new things for personal and professional development. Chances are, more than a couple of the top 10 most common resolutions will look familiar to you:

1. Exercise more
2. Lose weight
3. Get organized
4. Learn a new skill or hobby
5. Live life to the fullest
6. Save more money / spend less money
7. Quit smoking
8. Spend more time with family and friends
9. Travel more
10. Read more

Making your New Year’s resolutions happen

Despite the best of intentions, once the glow of a fresh new year wears off, many people struggle to make good on their plans. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, only 46% of people who made New Year’s resolutions were successful. That means over half of the people who set a goal for the new year will fail!

The study also involved non-resolvers, people who did not make a New Year’s resolution, but had a goal they wanted to achieve that year. Only 4% of non-resolvers were successful at achieving their goals, a far bleaker result than those who did make a New Year’s resolution.

Naturally, we don’t want to be in the camp of folks that fail to achieve their aspirations and dreams for 2021, so we’ve put together an exhaustive plan for following through on your resolution.

If you want to realize your New Year’s resolution this year, follow these 9 steps:

 

1. Mentally prepare for change

Changing ingrained habits is no easy task, so before diving head-first into your New Year goals, it is important to take a step back and get ready for that impending change.

As you start thinking about the changes you want to implement, make sure to do the following:

• Stay positive
• Try not to make big/quick changes
• Change should be gradual
• Build on smaller changes
• Allow a little room for error

2. Set a goal that motivates you

You would be surprised how often people set goals that are not for themselves. These goals could be dictated or coerced by a manager, spouse, or parental / peer pressure.  You need to make sure the goal you set is important to you and only you and that there is value or benefit for you in achieving the goal. It is these two things that will provide the reason and willingness to take action. This is also known as motivation!

3. Limit resolutions to a manageable amount

A common mistake in resolution setting is having too many and spreading yourself too thin. We all want to learn 25 different languages, 15 new job skills, and eliminate 5 bad habits, but we are not superheroes. We only have so much attention span we can dedicate to self-improvement, so having too many resolutions is a great way not to achieve the many goals you have set out for yourself.  It’s better to tackle one resolution well than multiple resolutions poorly.

4. Be specific

When it comes to setting resolutions, it’s easy to set bad goals that could lead to poor follow through. Fortunately, SMART goal setting framework can help you craft better goals.

SMART goals are:

• Specific – Articulate the resolution as clearly as possible.
• Measurable – Quantify your resolution if possible.
• Attainable – Choose a goal within the realm of possibility, but yet challenging.
• Relevant – Keep it relevant to your priorities and goals.
• Time-sensitive – Give yourself a time-frame in which to achieve a goal. A deadline will instill some urgency and provide a time when you can celebrate your success.

5. Break up big goals into smaller goals

A lot of us tend to be over eager and grandiose when it comes to resolutions. We have the best of intentions and may accidentally take on a goal that is too big to achieve. Thus, it’s helpful to divide a big goal into smaller goals that are more achievable.

6. Write down your goals

While it’s great to have goals, it is critical to document them in some way. Here are six reasons to write down your goals:

1. They are easy to forget. While that may seem silly, we are human, and it is human to be easily distracted and forgetful.
2. Writing down your resolutions helps you clarify what it is you want to achieve. It forces you to make decisions and be precise with your words.
3. Writing establishes intention, but action needs to be taken to achieve your resolution.
4. Written goals can act as a filter and guiding light for what opportunities to pursue. On any given day, there are a million decisions to make. When in doubt, refer to the goals you have set to dictate the way forward.
5. Documented goals will help you overcome resistance to progress.
6. Finally, written goals are a reminder of how far you have come and what you have achieved. It’s a nice feeling to look at back at the end of next year, and know your resolution has come to fruition. It’s a reason to crack open that bottle of champagne and celebrate.

7. Share your resolutions with others

It’s great to make a resolution for yourself and maybe even write it down, but if no one else knows about it, it’s easy to forget about or even ignore. And when you don’t achieve it, no one will notice or care.

8. Review your resolution regularly

Let’s face it, if you are not thinking about your resolution regularly, you are not going to follow through. Thus, a crucial part of realizing your goal is a regular review.

At a minimum, this review should be monthly, but the more frequent the better.

9. If you fall off track, get back on quick

We’ve established it will take time for your resolution to become a reality and we know change is difficult. In fact, we’ve already established we should leave some room for mistakes and setbacks. Setbacks can happen, but so long as they are handled correctly, they will not impact the big goal. The key is to avoid a defeatist attitude at all costs.

*Sourced from Go Skills