How To Make and Keep New Year's Resolutions
It’s that time of year again.
Time to wash away the past 12 months and start the New Year afresh with new (or
revised) goals, desires, and plans.
And that means it is time for the
annual ritual of New Year’s Resolutions.
This ritual reportedly began with the ancient Babylonians, who made promises to the gods in order to receive their favor and start the New Year off right. Of course, back then a new year began in March with the first full moon following the vernal equinox.
While New Year’s Resolutions may
be an annual ritual, it is not a very successful practice. Research shows that
the large majority of New Year’s Resolutions are abandoned within the first 90
days of the year.
To help you keep your own
personal New Year’s Resolutions going past the end of March, here are 8 steps
for making (and keeping) successful resolutions:
1. Understand the WHY behind each of your goals and desires. This takes a bit of time and reflection, but it is crucial that you internalize why a goal is significant and important to you. If you don't, it is too easy to toss the resolution aside when you hit obstacles and hurdles.
2. Visualize the outcome and your results. What
will success look like? How will you feel when your goal is accomplished? Who will
you tell? How will they react? Focus on your feelings, for positive feelings are powerful motivators and you can
call upon these if you lose momentum or hit some temporary setback.
3. Create specific details for each goal on your
list:
a) write out the purpose of the goal (i.e.
feeling better about yourself may be the purpose for losing weight).
b) write down how you will make this goal
a priority throughout the coming year, or until it is accomplished.
c) list the Key Action Steps you need to
take (with specific deadlines if appropriate).
d) list all the available resources to
help you achieve the goal
e) create a list of additional resources
you may need (this may include people, knowledge, tools, funds, or even time).
f) make a list of reference links to
information, tools, data, and motivational quotes you may need to call upon.
4. Use our Personal Change Action Plan template
to create a 30-60-90 day action plan for each goal. It’s free. It’s easy to
use. You can modify it to suit your needs if you want. No more excuses. Go to
our Personal Change Action Plan, copy it, and use it.
5. Prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for
the journey to success. Most likely the road will not be smooth and even. There
will be bumps, hurdles, and obstacles along the way. How will you overcome
these? What are your personal sources of motivation? Need some help in this
area? Our book Project You: Words of Wisdom is free in the Amazon Kindle store
(Dec 30, 2016 – Jan 3, 2017). In it you
will find a wide range of motivational quotations on all aspects of life. Download Project You: Words of Wisdom now.
6. Make a commitment to yourself — a PROMISE to
yourself —that you will maintain resilience and perseverance until your goal is
accomplished.
7. As you progress toward your goal, focus on accomplishments, not gaps.
Hence, if your goal is to lose 15 pounds, and by the end of February you are
down five pounds, focus on this accomplishment, not the 10 more pounds left to
go.
8. Celebrate achievements and milestones along
the way. Lost that first five pounds? Good, now go celebrate. Reward yourself.
Even with a slice or two of pizza if you want (but not the whole pizza!).
Here are
two other articles to help you achieve your 2017 New Year’s Resolutions:
We wish
you continued success in 2017.
