The beginning of a new year means many Americans will set New Year’s resolutions and vow to transform one thing or another to better their lives.
New Year’s resolutions usually fall under these 4 popular categories:
- Health & Fitness
- Financial
- Career & Personal development
- Improving personal relationships
This is understandable because these are really important factors of a happy life! However, fast forward 6 months later a staggering, 60% will have completely abandon their resolutions.
But following through on your resolutions can be done.
Here are 5 Amazing (AND simple) Tips for Success with your New Year’s Resolution Read More
1. Pinpoint your Motivation
There are 2 types of motivation:
- Intrinsic – This means you are more easily self-motivated. For example, in a gym scenario, you prefer going by yourself because you take satisfaction in how you feel afterward.
- Extrinsic – This means your behavior is driven by external rewards. For example, using the same gym scenario, you work harder when there’s a competition or reward system in place.
It may take some trial and error, but figure out what your motivation type is. Once you do that you can use proper motivations to create situations that make you excited to accomplish even more!
2. Have a Plan in Place
Setting your New Year resolutions is always easier said than done. However, it’s the steps you take to reach that goal that’s the tricky part. If you want to stick to your resolutions, it’s wise to break each step down into smaller goals, if possible, to make them more manageable.
Moreover, each time you achieve one, you should reward yourself, and feel proud of what you’ve accomplished! Positive reinforcement is crucial to help guide you as you push toward your goal and commit to your responsibilities.
One way to keep everything in check is to plan out your resolutions using SMART goal setting:
- Specific. Having a specific end result prevents you from making excuses.
- Measurable. Evaluating your progress will give your motivation a boost.
- Achievable. You can set daily goals as a building block to bigger goals.
- Relevant. Otherwise, if it’s not relevant, why bother?
- Time-bound. Goals need to have a defined end date.
3. Be Honest with yourself
Using the SMART goal planning will help you be honest with what you can accomplish. The more realistic your resolutions, the more likely you’ll see them through. If your goal for the New Year is to exercise more, then start small. Instead of planning an hour-long 5-day workout week, go for 20 minutes 3 days a week then increase gradually.
You’ll find that, as with all goals, as soon as you start seeing what you’ve accomplished, you’ll be pumped to do even more. However, it’s crucial that you stay away from the “all-or-nothing” approach. Doing something, even if it’s a small piece of what you’d originally planned, is much better and more productive than doing nothing at all.
Moreover, it’s equally important to not have too many resolutions up in the air at once. Make a list, prioritize them, and go from there. Once you feel the first one’s in the bag, go for the second, and so on. Focusing on one goal at a time will channel your energy and efforts there, helping you reach your target faster.
4. Hope for the Best; Plan for the Worst
Having a positive mindset is key when working on your New Year’s resolutions, but let’s be honest; every plan is bound for failure if you’re not careful! Be smart! Anticipate these obstacles so that when they do appear, you’ll be prepared.
Keeping with the gym scenario, if you get bored when you exercise, choose upbeat playlist that’ll get you revved up. Or you can workout at home, saving the most recent episodes of your favorite TV shows for motivation. If your motivation method is extrinsic, recruit a friend as a workout buddy for some friendly competition.
The idea is to nip it in the bud before the obstacles become stronger than your willpower so that you can overcome any obstacle that comes between you and your goal.
5. Be accountable for Your Actions
Accountability means you’re taking responsibility for the choices you’re making. This may seem easy to do at work when you have a deadline and a boss reinforcing it. However, it may not seem as easy when you’re home alone and skip out on cooking a healthy meal, and order take-out instead.
If you are more extrinsic you can enlist the help of a friend or join a support group or even simply post a photo of your home-cooked meal on social media. For self-motivated types, you can keep a log or a journal or even just hang a calendar on your wall with progress notes. Doing so will help you keep tabs on how far you’ve gotten and what still lies ahead.
Won and Done
Keeping your New Year’s resolutions can seem scary at first. However, with these 5 steps, you can do anything you put your mind to. Moreover, once you accomplish your first resolution, you’ll find that it’s not only beneficial, it’s fun as well!