You surely might have heard something like this before—"The coming year will be exceptional. I'll get in shape, I'll learn more, and I'll have the greatest year ever!”
Everybody loves to make resolutions for the New Year. But the fact is, almost everyone struggles to achieve them. You may have decided to end up losing the ten pounds, begin an exercise routine that you can stick with, or let go of your self-destructive smoking, drinking, or over-spending habit.
Despite the best intentions, only 8 percent of people are successful in achieving their goals. Resolutions are easy to make, but the real challenge is to adhere to them. This year, make yours last with the following tips.
- Set time aside and decide on a realistic goal: Start slowly, decide on your priorities, and make a realistic goal.
- Create an action plan and commit to working towards it: List down tasks to do, actions you can take, and resources you can call upon to strengthen your resolve to achieve your goal. Then prioritize which of these will you do and when. Then do that task at the same time and in the same place every day to make it a habit.
- Take small steps and monitor your progress: Continue to set short-term goals as you progress toward your long-term goal. Don’t overwhelm yourself by taking big steps that are too difficult. Keep track of your progress. You can maintain a Daily Resolution Journal focused on how you are implementing the change. This will give you better insight and motivation.
- Maintain consistency and combine regular tasks and goals whenever you can: The more consistent you are, the better your results will be over the long haul. However, it’s important to remain flexible in your approach. If something doesn't work as planned, don't hesitate to adjust things a bit. Taking a different approach can help improve your results. You can also combine your daily tasks with your goals.
- Foresee your obstacles: Try to become aware of your blockers, barriers, and obstacles. Ask yourself questions like ’What holds you back?’. This will help you to overcome them by breaking them down into smaller problems which will be easier to solve.
- Connect with someone who shares your goals: Having someone who has a similar goal to you can make your journey more enjoyable and you will be more likely to pursue it.
- Keep yourself accountable: It means being honest with yourself at all times and refraining from indulging in pitiful excuses to take you off the track. Holding yourself accountable for your choices, decisions, and actions helps to make good progress along your journey.
- Reward and give yourself credit for your accomplishment regularly: Acknowledge the difficulty of your journey and reward yourself when you reach your short-term goals. It may be for deciding to change, for taking that first step, or for achieving every objective that you planned, etc.
- Accept that you are not perfect and that you might fail sometimes: Don’t be defeated by your slipups. Look back at your progress and work harder than before to achieve your goal.
- Don’t give up: Even if you feel like you cannot do it anymore, do not give up. Go through your resolution journal and the reason why you set this resolution in the first place. This will help to build up your confidence and start fresh.
Attaining your New Year's Resolution is an involving process and this is why a lot of people fail. Achieving your new year resolutions might not be an easy task, however by working through these 10 steps and by turning consistent actions into habits that support your goal, you can very well end up being one of that 8 % of people who will find success along this journey. Acknowledge your role and focus on the strategies that work for you.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”