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Happy Ne Year! Are you one of the millions of people wanting to make changes in your life with a New Year’s resolution?
Fun Fact: Did you know that this tradition began over 4000 years ago? In ancient Babylonia, people made promises to the gods. The thought being that if you fulfilled your promise you would find favor with the gods.
Research shows that almost half of Americans make New Year’s resolutions but less than 10% manage to stick with it. We all enter into the New Year with great enthusiasm to achieve our goals. But let’s face it change is hard. Here are some tips to help you be the one who makes it happen!
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Pick Something Realistic
Dream big or go home right? Wrong. Remember that enthusiasm we talked about earlier? That’s fantastic but let’s tone it down a bit.
One of the biggest reasons people fail is that the goal is not realistic. The goal can be unrealistic for many reasons. Sometimes people give themselves to short a time to reach their goals or they may set to many goals at one time. Did you know there is a term for this? It’s called False Hope Sydrome. Who knew, right?
So how can we avoid the pitfalls of False Hope Syndrome and be realistic? Let’s use an example. An unrealistic goal might be to lose half my bodyweight in 3 months. Choose something more realistic (and healthy) like losing 1-2 pounds a week. This will help you to not feel overwhelmed as it is realistic. Another way to set realistic goals is to break down big goals into smaller short term targets. So you might say by March I would like to weigh___ and by June I would like to weigh___.
Be Specific in What You’re Doing
Not being specific is another reason people fail to reach their target. Without a specific goals and an outlined way to achieve it, people get lost along the way. Make yourself an action plan, naming exactly how you will go about it.
Ask yourself the following questions. What are you going to do to achieve your goals? Will it be daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly? When are you going to start? How will you measure your progress?
So let’s go back to the weight loss example, I want to lose half my bodyweight. Overall this is not a well-defined idea. A better goal that is more specific would be: I will lose 1-2 pounds a week by walking for 30 minutes, five times a week.
Have a “Why”
You feel motivated right now to make changes but often that motivation does not last. It is easy to lose momentum and get distracted. This is where having a “why” become important.
Having a “why” will keep you motivated when things are tough. It gives you purpose and you will need that especially when things get hard. Because it definitely will.
After your initial excitement wears off, you will start to doubt. Like I said earlier change is hard. You might ask yourself why am I doing this? Why should I continue?
The Huffington Post has a great article on outlining your “why” statement. Basically it breaks down to defining what the resolution is and what the effect will be. Let’s go back to our example. A why statement could read like this. I want to “lose weight” so I can be “healthier, happier, feel better, etc.”
Pick an Accountability Buddy
No man is an island. We all need people in our lives to help us. And having someone agree to help you reach your goals can provide extra motivation, especially when you are feeling lazy.
I don’t know about you, but I really hate to disappoint someone else. An accountability buddy will be someone you don’t want to disappoint.
Not everyone will be a good accountability buddy though. So you have to be selective.
Someone Who Cares About Your Goal
This could be a family member or friend or could be someone who has similar goals as you. There are a lot of online communities where you can find people with similar goals. Try checking out some forums or Facebook groups.
Someone Who Can Give You Tough Love
For example, I have a gluten intolerance. If I eat gluten I feel crummy. If I do it long enough my hair starts to fall out. My daughter is not afraid to give me tough love. If she catches me eyeing a gluten filled treat she will call me out on it. “You shouldn’t eat that but fine if you want to poison yourself.” Or my personal favorite, “Do you want to be bald?”
Brutal right? But it makes me stop and think. Find someone as brutal as my daughter to help you keep on the straight and narrow.
Write Down Your Goals
People who describe and visualize their goals are 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to keep with it. So something as simple as writing down your goal will make a big difference! So write it out or make a vision board. Put it somewhere you can see it every day.
For those who are tech savvy, try using an app to help. Do a quick search in Google Play for Habit Tracker and you will find many free options. Or set your screen as a picture of your goal so you see it every time you look at your phone.
So there you have it folks, 5 ways to help you achieve those resolutions. But I want to hear from you guys. What things have helped you stay on track in the past? How can you use these tools to help you? Let me know in the comments.
