Call them resolutions, intentions, or goals. The new year is fast approaching it is when many of us vow that THIS will be the year we keep our resolutions, only to give up on them by valentines day. Researchers suggest that only 9% of Americans that make resolutions complete them. In fact, research goes on to show that 23% of people quit their resolution by the end of the first week, and 43% quit by the end of January.
Not this year. It is up to you, right now, to decide if this year will be better for you than the last. But it takes some thought and planning to make goals stick.
THE RESOLUTION ROADMAP
CREATE A SOLID PLAN
The number one reason people often don’t achieve their goals is that they are too broad and lack a plan. A solid plan must:
- Be achievable by a certain date.
- Be measurable AND specific, In other words, a complete stranger should be able to determine whether or not you have achieved it.
- Positively impact your life even if indirectly.
For example if your goal is to build your saving account in the next year. This is what a goal could look like:
LOUSY: “Save money.”
BETTER: “Save 1,000.”
GOOD: “Have 1,000 in a saving account by December 31, 2023.”
AWESOME: “ Make $100 extra dollars month by working an extra day/overtime/side gig, put it in savings and don’t spend a penny of it. “
Create a ‘No-fail” Enviroment:
The fewer loopholes you have available to you, the easier it will be to succeed. For Example:
- If you are going to start exercising make sure you have the right attire (meaning no leotards from 1985) and dig out your treadmill from the pile of clothes that have settled there.
- If your goal is to eat healthier, clean out your fridge/pantry. The open jar of frosting, the stale cookies is the cupboard, the hidden stash of Tootsie Rolls. Get rid of them.
- If more money is the goal you can start now by cutting back on the streaming services (tough one we know), use grocery apps for coupons and make coffee at home.
Motivate Yourself:
The surest path to a failed goal is to try and force yourself to do something that makes you miserable. Remember, the goal is to make this year BETTER than the last, and build life long habits, not suffer though self imposed rules and restrictions. So cheer yourself on yourself a long the way.
- No matter how revved up you are at the beginning of the year , chances are as time goes on your focus and energy start to wane and you will be tempted to throw in the sneakers, quinoa, textbooks, meet ups, etc (this is why most New Years resolution fizzle by the end of January) So plan ahead. Surround yourself with motivation and reminders. Copy some motivational memes from social media and keep them on your phone. Subscribe to blogs and podcast from people who have achieved the same goal forwhich you are stiving, and share your goal with supportive family and friends so they can encourage you a long the way.
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Remember nothing changes if nothing changes. Make a plan, put in the effort, and cheer yourself on and imagine what you can achieve in 2024. Happy New Year.