We’ve mentioned before that we don’t like New Years Resolutions as a general rule as they are often made on a whim and not followed through. Instead, we advocate short, medium and long term planning / goal setting. However, if you are caught up in the spirit and want to make some New Years Resolutions, here’s how to do so and ensure that they are followed through.
Outline Your Resolutions
We’ve said it before and will no doubt say it again. Write your goals down! Outline your resolutions in the most realistic terms you can – what will they look like in the short, medium and long term? How do you intend to achieve them? You need to be able to visualise, smell, feel and taste them. They need to be real to you. The more you break them down, the more surmountable they become.
Connect
One of the biggest creators of failure for people’s New Year Resolutions is making them on a whim without fully understanding WHY the goal is important to you. If you can ground your resolutions and create an emotional connection to them, why you want to achieve them becomes deeply ingrained in your psyche. This emotional connection is what will drive your success.
Measure your Success
There’s a quote by Management Thinker Peter Drucker that goes along the lines of “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”. Hopefully you’ve now broken your goals down into measurable portions which means that you can track your success. Psychologically this is very important as recognising the achievement of even the smallest part of a goal sends a message to the brain that the bigger goal can be achieved.
Don’t Sweat the Failures
You will fail and that’s okay. A resolution won’t be achieved overnight and little failures will happen even if you’re mostly experiencing successes. Don’t sweat them. Learn from them and use them as tools to drive you that much closer to achieving your resolutions.
Reward Yourself
Often we get so caught up in our lives that we forget to celebrate success. Even the smallest of successes are worth celebrating – even if it’s just stopping for a second and saying to yourself that you’ve done a good job. For your resolutions, a great way of connecting the breakdown of your goals to celebrating your success is to set yourself a desired reward for the achievement of each step.
Brag
Many people don’t like to brag and we understand that it doesn’t always come across well. Speaking about firstly your goals and then your successes is important. Village mentality and support is vital in ensuring you stick to and achieve your goals, so don’t be scared of getting some family and friends in your corner.
Go for It!
There is nothing like a fresh start and it doesn’t get any fresher than the New Year so don’t mess around or procrastinate – pick your start date and dive in head first!