Monday, January 4, 2010
New Year’s Resolutions That Work
Most of the time New Year’s resolutions are about making our life better. For example, research shows that many resolutions revolve around improving our health – goals like regular exercise, eating better or reducing consumption of alcohol or caffeine are quite common. Other resolutions revolve around the quality of our relationships or lowering our stress level by working less.Lofty, well-meaning resolutions! But what happens next?
Statistics show that by the end of the month most of us will have given up on our New Year's resolutions. I don’t want to be discouraging because there is something you can do about it. Actually there are several ways to increase the odds of succeeding with your New Year’s resolutions.
Here are a few tips for New Year’s resolutions that work:
Start with a strong commitment. I think one of the reasons resolutions fail is because people know they should change but maybe they don’t really want to change. So take your time and really analyze your motives. Are you really committed to your resolutions?
Keep it simple and realistic. You might be inspired to do a major overhaul of your lifestyle, but that may not be realistic. If you want to be successful with keeping your resolution the best approach is to focus on one or two simple goals. Once you reach those goals you can add more later. There’s no law against making additional resolutions in July or August!
Write it down. Seeing your commitments on paper gives them more life than when they are simply floating around in your head. This is a great first step for small or lofty resolutions alike. Get it on paper and look at it often – maybe post it somewhere obvious like your refrigerator!
Break it down to small actions. Understanding the small steps that are required to get you from point A to point B will help you deal with the day-to-day roadblocks. It can be overwhelming to think about your resolutions in the big picture, but if you can break it down to small actions that you commit to on a weekly basis you will feel more comfortable in taking action. If you've resolved to improve your health, for example, focus on the small actions – weekly walks, daily nutrition, etc – that will get you to your goal.
Find an accountability partner. This is by far, one of the most effective methods for staying the course and having success. Having someone else to check in with on a regular basis on your progress and your commitments will give you focus and the accountability you need to meet your goals. And remember, this is someone who can give you equal measure of cheer-leading and pushing.
Get the support you need. What support can you put in place in your life to give you the time, energy, and resources to meet your goals? It can be as simple as asking your spouse not to bring home any treats or sweets to tempt you or hiring someone to do your laundry so you can spend that precious time at yoga class. The do-it-all-myself plan rarely works and getting the support you need will get you to your goals much faster.
Don't give up. Maybe you've fallen off the resolution bandwagon, or maybe you never got on in the first place, either way, resolutions are not just for January and you can get back into the swing of things at any time. You may hit a few road blocks on the way, but that's to be expected anytime you are pushing yourself to achieve greater things. So get going and keep going!
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