By this point, we’re all pretty sick of the idea of the new years’ resolution. For most of us, they end up being useless. We start off with great ambitions for the new year only to let new habits fizzle out within a week or two. That is a highly discouraging result from a practice designed to be motivating and life-changing.
I’m not saying we need to totally ditch resolutions. However, I think there are useful ways to set these goals and ways that are not so useful.
Think about goal setting and resolution-making in new ways so that you’ll be able to look back and say, “I did it!”
7 Steps to Making Effective New Years’ Resolutions
1) Identify the Why
Effective goals have good reasoning behind them. You need to, first and foremost, understand why change is necessary. If you don’t have a clear idea of how your current bad habits (or lack of good habits) is negatively impacting the quality of your life and relationships, you’re unlikely to feel motivated to change. We tend to gravitate towards the comfortable and the familiar – and that’s not conducive to meaningful life alterations.
Evaluate the pros and cons of change versus sticking to your old ways. It can make the new change that much more attractive and motivating.
2) Be Specific
Specificity is absolutely key if you want to set goals that you’re going to meet. For example, most of us will have some form of “get healthier” on our list. But what does that mean to you? Does it mean dropping a certain number of pounds on the scale? Being able to lift a certain weight or run a certain distance? Does it mean ditching fast food and cooking at home six nights a week?
When you’re specific, you’ll have a clearer avenue to accomplish the goals you have in mind.
3) Track Progress
If you can measure it, you can change it. If you’re a numbers guy like me, you know how engaging it can be to track progress. These concrete benchmarks allow you to really see progress over time in areas that otherwise would seem too intangible. “Get fit,” becomes “Beat my last best time.” You’ll also be able to more quickly recognize when progress is slipping and pivot to get back on track.
4) Seek Accountability
Publicizing your goals can be nerve-wracking, particularly if you have a habit of not following through. However, making your goals public in some way – either to an accountability partner, in the form of a blog, or Facebook group – motivates you to stay on track. We don’t want to let people down. We want to encourage people around us with our accomplishments. Open yourself up to the vulnerability of accountability.
It raises the stakes for failure while also providing you with a constant source of encouragement and positive reinforcement.
5) Learn from Failures
Why haven’t resolutions worked out in the past? If you don’t ask yourself this question and take active steps to avoid the same mistakes, you’re fairly likely to fall into the same traps. What excuses are you most prone to make? What temptations keep standing in your way? Was your goal too big, too overwhelming, or too intangible to accomplish? Was your plan unrealistic?
Step back, evaluate, and change your plan of attack to avoid a pattern of pitfalls.
6) Practice Patience
It’s tough to be patient with yourself, particularly when trying to ditch a bad habit or adopt a new, better one. When we fall short, we may be tempted to beat ourselves up with negative self-talk. That negativity can lead us to want to quit altogether. It’s never motivating! While you may think a strict approach is best (and yes, keep a schedule and don’t let yourself make excuses), be gentle with yourself when you fall short.
You only fail if you give up.
7) Ditch the Idea of “All or Nothing”
Celebrate progress, however small. The idea of “all or nothing” is going to sabotage your goals. For example, don’t blow your dietary goals for the day, weekend, or week because of one bad day or one indulgent meal. Just because you can’t make it to the gym one day doesn’t mean you can’t make it for the others.
Any progress is progress. Period. Do something, even if you can’t do all that you want to do. No throwing baby out with the bathwater here!
What are your goals for 2022? Share your top ambitions in the comments.