5 Tips For Success In Your New Year’s Resolution

Often, coping with stress is about not setting yourself up for failure. For example, setting goals for yourself that you know you’re unlikely to reach can make every day more stressful. As we head into a New Year, this becomes more problematic, especially if your New Year’s Resolution centers on something you’re fairly certain you cannot achieve.

The key to success when you resolve to make significant life changes is to make the change as specific and detailed as possible. For example, if you’ve determined that THIS year is the year you’ll finally get more exercise, you need to make a specific commitment to a detailed plan for doing so. For example, write down your goal for the week, and fill in the blanks, like so:

“This week, I will work out for at least 30 minutes on (Monday/Wednesday/Friday), from (____ PM until ____ PM), by (going to the health club/riding 6 miles on my bike/speed walking a mile around the neighborhood/jogging 2 miles at the high school track).” Follow this up with a plan for the following week.

By making your plan as detailed as possible, with a commitment to a particular course of action each week – at particular times and on particular days – you’re far more likely to follow through this week, and into the next. Before you know it, you’re half-way there towards your ultimate goal.

9 in 10 New Year’s Resolutions Fail within the First Month

According to an article at PsychCentral.com, nearly 90% of New Year’s resolutions fade away within the first month. Life intrudes, and old habits really are hard to break. The five most common reasons for failing to follow through on your New Year’s resolution are:

1. Over shooting the mark – If you set a goal of losing a lot of weight this year, your ambition is admirable. However, such a goal is usually too general, and too long term to keep it in sight on a daily basis. Instead, set a monthly weight loss goal that you can more easily achieve, and track toward ultimate success.
2. Flying by the seat of your pants – While improvising a spur of the moment action can be fun, it will not help you reach your ultimate goal. Instead, you need a plan; a clear path to the lifestyle changes you need to make to get to where you want to be. You also need to write out your plan, so you can refer to it and make corrections or note successes along the way. If you just “Wing it” again – you’ll fail again.
3. Keeping it secret – You need to set yourself up with a support system, instead of setting yourself to fail. Inform at least one person of your resolution for change, and let them help you be accountable. It’s simply too easy to let yourself off the hook if no one else knows you’re not sticking to your guns. Find someone who’ll support you, with love and kindness, and you’ll be much less likely let them – or yourself – down by failing.
4. Being vague about the process – If you refuse to keep track of the progress you’re making toward your goal, how do you know where you are in your plan – your written plan? By keeping a journal, you’ll know where you are, and how far you need to still go. Seeing concrete evidence your success will also inspire you to continue. Don’t let yourself get away with “feeling like” you’re making progress. Instead, make sure you KNOW you are.
5. Lack of rewards for success – Hey, your journal says you lost five pounds this month! Big Deal, right? You still have 45 to go to reach your goal of losing 50 pounds. You just know you’re never gonna’ make it, right? This doesn’t have to be true and, if you allow yourself a small reward for progressive steps towards your goal, you’ll be more inclined to continue reaching for the Big One. Allow yourself a small indulgence, and take pleasure in rewarding yourself for a job well done; then, get back to work.

Multiple studies into human behaviour have found that it takes about three weeks, just 21 days, to establish a new habit – for good or for ill. On the other hand, bad habits tend to develop a bit more easily, usually because we’re unaware of them, while changing your behaviour requires conscious effort and action. Unfortunately, by repeatedly setting goals for yourself and not reaching them, you increase the amount of stress in your life.

By repeatedly failing, you increase your internal dialogue in which you tell yourself you simply don’t have the willpower or ability to commit. To avoid setting yourself up for failure once again, use these 5 Tips for Success in your New Year’s Resolution, and make this year the year that you follow through successfully!

Would you like help in making that commitment this year, and in reducing the stress in your life? If so, please get in touch with me today.