New Year’s resolutions… Who really keeps them? The answer to that question could be you even if, like most people, you’ve already abandoned them. Rather than fretting over what you have or haven’t done so far this year, you can still accomplish those New Year’s resolutions – even if you’re starting over a bit later in the year.
Try these action tips to help you achieve the resolutions you made at the start of the New Year:
1. Make it known.
Tell someone close to you about your New Year’s resolution. You’ll be held accountable for your success or lack thereof. By doing so, you’ll feel a bigger commitment to actually complete the goal than if you were to simply keep the goal a secret.
Now there are two incentives to meet your goal: The first is to enjoy the fruits of your labor and say that you’ve completed your goal. The second is to ward off the embarrassment of having to explain why you didn’t complete the goal.
2. Enlist a friend.
Find a friend with a similar goal and work toward reaching your goals together while offering each other moral support.
Weight loss is an especially suitable goal to enlist the help and support of a buddy. Other fine goals a friend could strive for along with you include home improvement projects, monetary goals, and family goals.
Choose a friend that will hold you accountable for reaching your goals. An unmotivated friend that will simply say “It’s okay, try again next year” isn’t the right person for the job.
3. Break it down.
Break your goals down into bite-sized chunks. For example, if your goal is to land 20 new clients by the end of the year, break the goal down into nine months if it’s now March, for example.
Landing 20 new clients in nine months equates to just over two clients per month (2.2 clients).
Even if you’ve fallen a bit short of the goal, you’ll still have increased your number of clients. Essentially, you’ve succeeded because you’re in a better position than you were last year.
Any goal seems more attainable when broken down into manageable milestones.
4. Have a plan.
Setting a New Year’s resolution without creating a plan for reaching it is a recipe for disaster. For your greatest success, create a plan detailing the exact actions you must take in order to achieve your resolution.
Know exactly what you want to do. Saying, “I want to lose weight” isn’t going to cut it. It leaves a lot of wiggle room. But saying “I want to lose 20-lbs by December 1st” is a much better plan.
Create a detailed plan that entails exactly how you’ll get to your goal. Detail the daily actions that will help you edge towards reaching your resolution. In addition, create an alternate plan in case your initial plan falls short, thus helping you set yourself up for success – one way or the other!
Is your New Year’s resolution important to you? Are you committed to it? If you take your New Year’s resolution seriously, create reasonable goals, and follow these tips, you can achieve it! It will require a consistent effort on your behalf and some hard work, but it’ll all be worth it when you accomplish that resolution.
When your goal begins to seem out of reach, to regain your motivation, envision what your life will be like after you reach your resolution. Your life will be better, you’ll be happier, and you’ll have a sense of pride knowing that you’ve worked hard to accomplish your New Year’s resolutions.