Yup, it is almost New Years, and we all know what that means, right? New Year’s resolutions. How many years have you made a New Year’s resolution and promised you would stick to it? How many years were you successful?
Many people find themselves putting a lot of energy into becoming a better person after the new year, but not seeing the results they want. No matter what your goal is, or what time of the year it is, there are a few things you need to keep in mind to ensure you will be more successful at achieving your goal.
- Be realistic about your goals. We set ourselves up for failure when we plan goals that we will not be able to achieve. Setting small goals that are easy to achieve means we are more likely to succeed. And achieving these smaller, more “do-able” goals, helps us feel better about ourselves and our progress and ultimately increases our motivation to tackle the next goal.
- Write down your goals in a place you see everyday, along with your plan of action for achieving this goal. This is very important as it will help remind you what your goals are and how you will achieve them.
- The devil is in the details! The more specific we are with the “how” ‘when” and “where” of achieving a goal, the more likely it is that we will accomplish that goal. Instead of saying “Sometime soon I will join that gym”, (because “sometimes” never seem to come!) tell yourself, “On Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. I will be heading to the ABC gym in Appleton to sign up for a membership.
- Ask a trusted loved one to help. Just like having a work out buddy is helpful for many of us to achieve our fitness goals, so too finding a goal buddy you can be accountable to can help you achieve other goals!
- Give yourself little rewards whenever you reach a smaller goal. For example, if you successfully give yourself time each day to practice mindfulness, at the end of the week, go ahead and buy yourself that mindfulness book you have always wanted. You’ve earned it!!
No matter what time of the year you decide to start remind yourself you can achieve your goal. We are all capable of change. The first step is believing you have what it takes to reach your goal, because you do!
– written by Kaitlyn Multhauf
