Make your New Year Resolutions a Reality
With the new year comes a lot of new opportunities for us all, usually in the form of resolutions of things to change. This annual time-to-change attitude is not a new concept. Each year we face the shift of the calendar year in anticipation and with proclamations of new beginnings and closed endings. We, at least socially, declare the new year as our prime time for setting new goals and obtaining new levels of individual growth.
It sounds good.
It looks good.
Especially on day one, the new resolutions even feel good. At least for me.
Traditionally each year I socially-share my goals, write them down, and truly believe in the value of them. And then, almost every year, I literally lose my goals, fail at them, or even dismiss them completely within a few months’ time.
It is reported that only 46% of people accomplish their New Year resolution. Making a New Year Resolutions into a reality is a challenge that requires more than a verbal or even written (which is stronger) commitment; it requires a mind shift.
While I could go on for hours on the breakdown aspects of mind-shifting for action and change, who really has time for that? We are in a fast-passed, competitive, demanding society that allows limited time for drawn-out reflection and planning.
So instead, here are the top 4 tips to making your new year resolution a reality. Applying these, keeping track, and reflecting back on your resolutions at the end of 2022, will give you a more joyful reality than you ever expected.
1. Have a Growth Mindset
The biggest predictor of accomplishing a goal is the belief that you can. That is a mindset. Our perspective is a powerful tool. Believing that you can and will grow to meet your new resolution goal is half the battle. Reflect for a second on the tone you have in your mind when you think of the goal for the new year. It is positive or negative? Are you excited? Nervous? Anxious? Anticipating results? Really consider if you hold the belief that you can and will accomplish the goal. If you do, keep on keeping on! If you notice your belief is cautious, hesitant, consider modifying your goal to a smaller one or even a different one.
You have to believe you have the power to bring outcomes to commit to it.
2. Make your goals approachable vs avoidable
We all have the same 24 hours in a day, 365 days a year. This is the same for all people—no bias found. What is our responsibility is to determine HOW we spend those 24 hours because inevitably, we are going to have them. This is why our goals needs to be what we CAN do verses what we want to eliminate. We have a higher chance of following through with an action that fills our time with something new verses trying to take eliminate something from our life with nothing to fill that time.
Want to give up soda? Great, make your goal to drink 32 ounces of water each day.
It becomes approachable verses avoidable, and we are more apt to pursue it.
3. Obtain accountability
Healthy, supportive relationships are the foundations of healthy living. We can be our own cheerleaders and critics but are limited providing our own external impact of encouragement and accountability we get from others. Seek out at least one person who will check in on you regarding your goal. Make it someone that will hear your successes, encourage your persistence, and support you in the set-backs. This person, or people, need to help you realize all of the above may happen and agree that that is okay. You don’t have to make a personal goal a public affair, but having a team-player if an irreplaceable accountability is important.
At the very, very least, find a tool that will give you verbal and written motivation to stay on track. It gives you a motivation to continue outside your self-talk.
4. Reward your little wins
Victory is really all about the process. Memories are motivators, and end-of-year reflections are lasting impressions. So often we are in pursuit of the final destination that when we get there we almost grieve the bushel of emotions we experienced in the process. That is because it is during the process of reaching a goal that we gain the most wholeness and growth. So reward your little wins in the path to your final destination. Set small, obtainable goals. Creatively, reward each success. Applaud your stamina to keep on with each set-back. Take photos (yes, you can keep it private!). Journal your process. Experience new things. The pursuit is the most memorable.
Holding strong to these four goal-oriented keys for obtaining your New Year resolutions will help you greet the next holiday season with a more personal, joyful reality than life alone allows. You’ve got this!
