Are Your New Year’s Resolutions Starting To Slip?
About 45% of all Americans make New Year’s Resolutions, but only 8% are actually successful at achieving their goals! Can you believe that? Are you one of the 8%?
The end of the year is the perfect time to reflect on the previous year’s journey and get motivated for the times ahead. The time-honored tradition of New Year’s resolutions promises a fresh start. You can renew lost commitments and begin new projects, goals, or dreams. Everyone wants to get fit, to burn off all those extra holiday calories, and to pay off debt. January 17th marks National Ditch Day for those of you who can’t keep up with your goals for more than a fortnight. 30% of those who have made resolutions gave up their resolutions for good. If you are one of the people who found it hard to stick with the plan, these simple tips will help you get over the hurdle and achieve your goals:
Make them Do-Able
If you create this MASSIVE goal that’s so outlandish, even superman can’t manage it, what makes you think you’ll accomplish it? For example, if you don’t exercise at all, it’s unrealistic and unfair to ask yourself to turn into a fitness buff overnight. If you set your goals so unrealistically high, it ends up as all-or-nothing – which is just a recipe for failure. Start with something attainable, something you can reach and work forward from there. If your goal is to be more physically active and get into a fitness routine, start by adding 20 minutes, three times a week. Once that becomes more natural, you can add more time or more days. Working towards any goal requires patience, hard work, and dedication. You have to be willing to put in the work to reach the end result.
Break-it-Down
Let's say you want to lose 50 lbs this year. When do you want to lose it by? June? December? Set a date, so you have something to measure. Next, break things down into quarterly, monthly, and weekly tasks so that you know what you have to do to get to where you want to be. Start with your bigger, longer-term goals, and make sure you have a clear, concise idea of what you want. Then you can begin to break those goals into smaller pieces. For example, if you want to lose 50lbs by next December, you’re looking at only 1lb per week, but if you want the extra weight gone by June, that number doubles. If you have shorter-term goals, start by breaking those into monthly and weekly tasks so that you can measure your progress. This will keep your motivation up every time you complete something, and it also makes things MEASURABLE, so you can stay on track.
Keep a List
Make a list of your top 10 goals for this year. By keeping this list, you can check them off as you accomplish them. It will not only keep you motivated to move on to the next thing on your list and keep the momentum up. But it will also help you reflect on your progress, taking into account the positive and the negative, helping you stay honest.
Be Accountable
Achieving your resolutions and goals isn’t going to work if you can’t hold yourself accountable. The best way to do that is to enlist a partner or buddy to keep you honest. It can be your spouse, your best friend, or even your kids. Make sure they know what your goals are and how you plan to achieve them so they can help keep you on track. It’s like having your own personal cheerleader. Who doesn’t want that!?
Focus on The Feeling
How would you feel having all your dreams come true? That is a fantastic feeling, right? We all know the feeling we get from accomplishing our dreams – you get this sense of accomplishment, peace, relief, love, and a host of other positive emotions. Focus on that and use it to fuel your momentum towards achieving your goals. By focusing on this, you will attract situations and experiences that will lead you towards that goal. Redirecting your attention this way will also release the anxiety behind the "how" it will happen, and it will allow the universe to lead you in an unexpected way down the path.
Keep it Positive
Focus on what you will do, not on what you will not. Your attitude and how you approach your goals will directly affect the results. Most of the time, negatively phrasing your goals ends up leading you to do more of the things you want to change. Instead, focus on the positive actions of achieving your goals.
Hire a Coach or a Trainer
If you just can’t keep the motivation or momentum, try getting a coach to help you. Most gyms offer free or inexpensive personal training sessions. In the end, you will have a more personalized, more intense workout to really help you meet your fitness goals. If your goal is related to money, hire a money coach! They can help you hammer out a plan to get your finances where you want them, plus they will keep you accountable.
Don’t let a few mis-steps derail you for good. Everyone has a bad day here or there, but stick with it, and you will get where you want to be. If you have gotten a little off track, take a deep breath, and start things up again. Most changes take at least 30 days to become regular habits and get into a rhythm – so stick with it! You can do this!Until next time – Keep It Simple!
