5 Tips For Setting New Year's Resolutions That Work
It’s no secret that traditionally, New Year’s resolutions don’t work. Forbes states that 80% of people give up on their resolutions by the second week of February. But it’s not about the fact that we make these resolutions at New Year’s that lead to them being unsuccessful, ,it’s because we fail to do some key things when we make our resolutions. Here are some ways to increase the chances that you will succeed:
Give some serious thought to the goals you want to set
It’s important to set goals that are meaningful to you, that are so important to you that you can harness motivation and determination to make the changes necessary. Don’t just commit to the same resolutions that everyone else is making, identify what is meaningful to you.
Make sure the goals are reasonable and measurable
One of the most important part of setting goals and resolutions is making sure the goals are reasonable and measurable. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, saying you want to lose 50 lbs might not be the most reasonable goal. Identify a goal that is reasonable for you to achieve. Another aspect of goal setting is to set measurable goals so that you can measure progress. Just saying “I’m going to lose weight” is not a measurable goal. However, saying “My goal is to lose 5 lbs”, then that is a measurable goal that can be tracked, and progress celebrated.
Set up a plan to make behavior change
Once you’ve identified your measurable and reasonable goals, set up a plan to make behavior change in order to meet your goal. Write down the steps you need to take in order to meet your goal, and make these steps measurable as well. For example, if you need to increase exercise in order to lose weight, then identify what the behavior change is going to be and measure your progress. If you are only exercising once per week, then maybe the behavior change is to increase that to three times per week. Make a plan for how you will make that change.
Find an accountability person
Another aspect of successful goal setting is having an accountability person. Ask a friend or family member to check in on you to see how your progress is going. Knowing that someone is going to ask you how you are doing on your goals can help keep your motivation levels up.
Re-evaluate periodically, and be flexible
It’s also healthy to re-evaluate your goals and progress regularly. Life is never static and things change, and so we also need to be able to be flexible in our goal setting. If something happens in our life that upsets our schedule or gets us off track, we need the ability to evaluate how to get things back on track or revise our goals if necessary.
I hope these tips are helpful for setting New Year’s resolutions that work! Stay healthy and well and reach out anytime!