SETTING NEW-YEAR RESOLUTIONS That will work!
Planning for a Year of Achievement
Are you busy making your New Year Resolutions? Or have you decided never to make a New Year’s resolution ever again.? If the latter, you’re not alone. So many people get demoralized when they make resolutions that they keep for only a few weeks or maybe even just a few days.
Why is this? After all, we all have the best intentions and the timing (new year, new start) couldn’t be better. The problem may lie in the fact that we place a huge amount of pressure on ourselves. During the last week of December and the first week of January, all you hear is, What are your New Year’s resolutions? , What are you going to work on this year?
The focus is on what but not on how. When you are more concerned with the goal you set than on the specifics of how you are going to accomplish it, you can set yourself up for failure.
New Year Resolution Mistakes
There are two common mistakes that people tend to make before they even start to make their New Year resolutions:
- They think about what they should do, rather than what they really want to do.
- They think about what they should stop doing, rather than what they actually want to achieve.
To be successful at any change, you need to really want it. Unless you take time to consider what it is you really want you will end up making a resolution to which you are not entirely committed. Without commitment, you aren’t motivated and after the first setback, you will quit.
So the first rule of New Year Resolutions is to only make ones that you are committed to — Don’t resolve simply because it is the thing to do, or because someone has told you that you should.
Five Rules for New Year’s Resolutions
Eventually, you will come up against challenges and roadblocks along the way; however, by planning and following these rules, you will be better placed to negotiate these easily.
Rule 1: Commit to Your Resolution
Successful resolutions start with a strong commitment to making a change.
- Choose resolutions that you really want to achieve.
- Announce your resolution to everyone around you — they will help hold you accountable.
- Questions to ask yourself Is this resolution my idea or someone else’s? Does this resolution motivate me? Is this resolution sit comfortably with other factors in my life?
Imagination is an effective tool to help you accomplish your goals. Try to believe that you have achieved your goal. How do you feel? How do you look? Where you are, what you’re doing? How do others react to you? By visualizing yourself in the position you desire, you can boost your belief that you can do it and strengthen your motivation.
Rule 2: Be Realistic
The key to achieving goals is continued motivation. If you set the bar too high, you risk failing.
- Consider carefully before setting the same resolution you set last year. If it didn’t work then, you need to make sure there is good reason to believe you can achieve it this year.
- Aim lower, rather than too high — aim for something that is challenging but that you have a good chance of accomplishing.
- There is no reason to set more than one or two resolutions.
Rule 3: Write It Down
A simple but effective way to accomplish your aim is by writing your resolution. There is something inside us that brings more dedication and effort when we take the time to do so. Try writing it on paper and keep it where you often see it.
Rule 4: Make a Plan
This is where so many resolutions fall. Articulating what you want to achieve is one thing; deciding how to do it is quite another. Don’t miss out this step!
- Start by anticipating where you want to be.
- Then work back along your path to where you are today.
- Write down all the milestones you note in between.
- Decide what you will do to accomplish each of these milestones. You need to know each step and have a plan for what comes next.
I ain’t Martin Luther King. I don’t need a dream. I have a plan. — Spike Lee
Rule 5: Be Flexible
Not everything will work out precisely the way you planned.
- When creating your plan try to predict some challenges you will face and mentally prepare yourself for the others.
- Realize that your resolution itself might change as your life changes so will your goals, dreams, and desires.
There is no fixed rule saying that a resolution must be set in January. If your circumstances say it is better to wait until March, then do so. Don’t get too caught up in the New Year craze!
New Year’s resolutions can be a pain or a pleasure. The choice is yours. If it’s a pain, you may decide never to make a resolution again. So decide to make it a pleasure! The starting point is to focus on something that you really want and are ready to give your commitment to. Do this and you’ll be in a great position to stay motivated and be successful!
As you plan your New Year resolutions, apply the Five Rules to set yourself up for success.
