How To Kickstart And Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
As today is the first day of a brand new year, we polish off the last of the holiday cookies, skip the morning workout while visiting relatives, and snap at the kids when everyone’s overloaded on sugar and presents.
We return home, resolved to Make Changes. We write out a list and post it on the fridge. And by the end of January, the list is buried under unsigned permission slips and cupcake recipes for the bake sale, and not a single item is crossed off.
Once again, we’ve sabotaged ourselves. What’s worse, we don’t even always realize that’s what we’re doing. Every year, you start off in January with a long list of things you’re going to change. Why not set yourself up for success instead? Set realistic goals that you can actually keep throughout the year. Here’s how.
Set Up For Success
The trick to making resolutions you can keep is to first understand how to write a good resolution, one that automatically sets you up for success. And no, that doesn’t mean that the goal should be to lose less weight or to read fewer books or to run more miles. Rather, you step back from the overarching goal: lose weight, read more, exercise more — and approach your resolution differently.
“Lose weight” is far too broad. “Lose 15 pounds by the end of March” is better, but still not great. Yes, it’s a goal, a marker, but how are you getting there? How do you measure success on February 2? Instead, aim for something like, “I resolve to stop taking second helpings at dinner.” “I resolve to eat five servings of vegetables daily.” “I resolve to keep a food journal for two weeks.” “I resolve to meet with a nutritionist by the end of the month.”
These are goals you can reach and cross off. These are goals that will get you to the end of March — and beyond. These are goals that set you up for success.
Incremental Steps
You can take this approach with any resolution on your list. Instead of resolving to write a novel, resolve to spend 15 minutes writing every day. If your goal is to run a marathon, start by committing to follow the Couch to 5K plan for two weeks. Give yourself a fighting chance. Nothing succeeds like success. Something that’s working motivates you to keep going.
What about goals that are inherently less tangible, like resolving to be a better parent? This, too, is something you can do — if you go about it the right way. Think for a few minutes about what exactly you want to change. What does success look like? How can you get there? You might start by resolving not to raise your voice to your kids, or to start using a special phrase to indicate that you’re mad and need a few minutes to cool off.
Creating Great Goals
The best goals and resolutions, as you can see, are those that let you work a little bit every single day. Commitment is a long-term thing, and the only way to get there is with a lot of practice. That means getting up every day and working for what you want.
Your goal is to stop procrastinating? Commit to spending 20 minutes a day on the tasks you usually put off. You want to spend more time with your spouse? Set a 10-minute date every morning or evening to touch base and catch up. You want to make more money? Spend 15 minutes daily looking for new clients or accounts, suggesting additional responsibilities to your boss, or brainstorming ways to improve processes. You get the idea.
Checkpoints For Celebration
The final key to successful resolutions is to create checkpoints along your path. Right now, while you’re still excited about setting goals, take the time to schedule some followups in your calendar. Whether you use an electronic or paper organizer, jot down reminders and celebration points. Check in with yourself, celebrate your success, and adjust your goals as necessary.
With a little practice, you can create New Year’s resolutions you’ll enjoy keeping all year long.
Hello Tony,
also my last article of 2008 spoke to properly formulate its goals for the new year.
Want something is not enough!
Great advice, Tony! I’m trying each day to do something to promote the two poetry collections I’ve had published (’It’s a Teacher’s Life…!’ and ‘Family and More – Enemies or Friends?’) and I am now trying to find an illustrator for a children’s book I’ve written. Then, if my agent hasn’t found me a publisher, I will probably get my book published independently. Hopefully, by committing to doing something each day along these lines, I will be well on my way, by the end of the year, to establishing myself as a poet and a children’s writer.
Thank you for your posts.
Helena Harper
http://www.helenaharper.com
I had the pleasure of seeing you speak on my favorite website: TED. It was right as I was forming a womens dream group to see if we can encourage each other to step outside our boxes and accomplish a big dream.
I have been a fan of success coaching and thinking, but never really “got it” until I watched you speak on TED. Suddenly something shifted in me and so many things in my life made sense. Ever since hearing you on that video I have been making changes in my life with relative ease. It is surreal.
It is as if a light went on.
I have shared your Inspiration with our group on our newly formed blog. I am hoping they begin to see (as I have) how we have stood in our own way of achieving our deepest hopes and dreams.
Our next meeting is this Saturday and I am here catching golden nuggets from your site to share with my group. Thank you for being the wonderful person that you are.
Sincerely,
Catherine Hughes
Tony, hi
You are my friend since about 1990 and we never spoke before.
I’ve studied your sistems and books regularly at that time and had
several and great changes in my life, than.
After 1995 a have lost my focus and stoped trainning my mind with you,
so I didn’t have more succes in my businness as well as I had before.
Imagine that only nowadays I remembered to look for you in the internet
and, guess what! There were you, here you are, changing the world!
It’s like meeting a friend, an old friend, who helped me a lot in the past,
and we lost contact, and now we can meet again, via internet!
You don’t know how happy I am, looking that I was right, saying that you
were differente, at that time. Telling peopple about you and your methods,
many times listenning that I was wrong on believing on your methods.
But seeing you now, I confirm that we were wright. Those things work, really.
The most important secret I’ve learned is: never stop practicing – we are not only supose to know what to do, we must DO, practice what we know.
So, Tony, I was so excited that I had picked up the phone and called You in San
Diego. But they told me you are a very busy person and it was almost impossible
to speak with you.
My friend, I am now following your steps, your advices and reading again your books.
Looking back in my life, if I consider by friend the person who gave me the best advices, you are my BEST FRIEND.
I live in Brazil, Sao Paulo.
And I want to be your best frined, to. Count on me,
Sincerely,
Arnaldo Giacomo
The hardest part of new years resolution is to keep it, isn’t it?
I wrote an article about it once, it really go me thinking. Since I have kept every single one!
Thank you for this aproach to New Years Resolutions – one of those things that we all think about and mostly never follow up on in the long run, when in fact what we should be doing is to be consistent with our “resolution to change” and to be focused on the “Right Questions” and to have a “Positive Mind” on a regular basis. Your post also helped me to think about my novel I want to write and by thinking in terms of writing for short periods on a daily basis is a much easier target to achieve and maintain. Cheers, Russell (p.s. I will send you a copy when I am finished
) )
I love you, Tony!
Hi Tony
Purchased your books a few years back. As you say in your book, I am one of the few who only got through the first few pages (that is not saying your book didn’t grab me enough). I watch your presentations all the time on youtube. Recently I have got back into the books.
I wondered if you have an agent I could liase with (assuming you don’t speak to people like myself directly). I would love to conduct an interview with you (i’ll pull rank on my writers for this opportunity!!)
For the past 6 years i havebeem publishing one of the leading corporate events magazines in the UK, Prestige Events. http://www.prestigeeventsguide.com.
Next week, we announce a 900% circulation increase which see us become the largest circulating corporate events magazine in the UK with 95,000 readers.
I feel my readers would benefit tremendously in these times from your teachings.
I would love to get it into our upcoming Summer 09 edition (out 17th July 2009).
My editorial deadline is 3rd July 2009.
Here’s hoping…….
My email address is wes@prestigeeventsguide.com.
Thank you for your inspiration and guidance!!
Glad to see that you are still in the game good job.
URL: http://www.sixminutestosuccess.com/toyoursuccess
Well Tony you never cease to amaze me, great job done here as many do not keep their new years resolutions however I am sure now that you are on the case they will do, great job