A recipe for New Year's resolutions to succeed

Why do some people continuously fail to achieve their New Year’s resolutions year after year? What is missing? What are they doing wrong? Are they just unlucky? Do they simply lack willpower? Or maybe they don’t have what it takes to achieve their desired aims for the year...?

Any New Year’s resolution you set in motion will require a full commitment on your part. A half-hearted commitment is only wishful thinking and will get you nowhere.

When you fully commit to doing something, you ‘at that moment’ acknowledge that you will allow for change to take place. After all, achieving your New Year’s resolutions will require that things change in your life. And for things to change, you must be open and willing to accept change.

In other words, you must be willing to change yourself. Only through change ‘within yourself’ can you expect for change to take place outside of yourself. And this is where most people go wrong.

Common New Year’s resolutions

Health-related topics are the most common New Year’s resolutions among all genders. Exercising more, eating healthier and losing weight are the top 3 New Year’s resolutions overall.

• A total of 48% wants to exercise more, making it the most popular New Year’s resolution.
• Health-related resolutions cover the top 3, and a Swiss study found that 70% of all resolutions relate to physical health.
• Men and women share the same top 4 most popular New Year’s resolutions, according to a study under Brits.
• Women focus slightly more on health-related topics than men in the United Kingdom (UK), specifically regarding losing weight (44% vs 34%).
• Men focus more on pursuing their career ambitions (23%) or cutting down on drinking (19%), compared to women in the UK (16% and 11% respectively).
• COVID-19 impacted the type of resolutions for 75% of people who set them. After COVID-19, they focused more on mental health, eating healthier and their finances.

Change takes effort

When it comes to the process of change, it’s important to understand that change takes time, energy, effort and a lot of patience on your part. Sometimes you can put in a lot of effort, time and energy for very little return (at least, it seems that way).

And this is of course when patience comes into the picture. Patience allows you to commit to long-term results and outcomes, and not get discouraged by short-term obstacles and setbacks.

But even with all this space now available in your life, you will still need to assign a specific set of behaviours each day and week to each New Year’s resolution you set. And this is where many people go wrong.

They go wrong because they don’t persist for long enough. As such you must commit to your New Year’s resolutions for an entire year – only then will you see sustainable results.

Successfully achieving your New Year’s resolutions requires building a positive environment that supports your desired aims. It also requires the support of like-minded people, saying no to stuff that doesn’t matter and saying no to stuff that distracts you from your main path.

We simply have too many other responsibilities, commitments, distractions and goals that we give too much priority, and as a result there just isn’t enough room in our lives for more.

Setting goals

You have probably heard that you need to set very specific goals. The more specific, the better and the more likely you are to achieve them. Writing down specific goals isn’t bad. It’s certainly better than having wishful goals that you can’t track or measure.

However, when it comes to your New Year’s resolutions, writing down specific goals isn’t quite enough. Yes, certainly have them there written in front of you, but you also need one additional ingredient.

What you need, is a list of specific intentions, actions and activities you will partake in on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, which will help you achieve your New Year’s resolutions.

In other words, you need to break down each of your goals into the smallest possible chunks. And these small chunks are of course made up of daily behaviours you will indulge in.

Through small daily actions over an extended period of time, you will progressively develop the necessary habits to achieve the New Year’s resolutions that you set for yourself. And that’s it. It’s as simple as that.

This is, in essence, the one true secret to achieving your resolutions. That’s all there is to know – unless of course there is more.

Well, there is more. There is the knowledge of how to put this secret into practical action, to help you achieve your goals. And that’s exactly what we will look at in the remainder of this article.

Often making permanent changes in your life will require that you get uncomfortable by doing things that create uncertainty, which may very well manifest in fear.

Dealing successfully with these emotions will require a little emotional intelligence on your part. Prepare yourself mentally, as achieving your New Year’s resolutions will have more to do with your state of mind than anything else.

Get your mind right, and everything else will eventually fall into place.

Get ready for the new year

In preparation for your New Year’s resolutions, begin by eliminating unhelpful thoughts and by strengthening your belief systems.

Likewise, it’s important to understand what it takes to avoid the pitfalls of instant gratification.

Next is an outline of a process that will assist you in putting all that mental work into practical action to achieve your New Year’s resolutions.

Although this process is quite straightforward, it will take a diligent effort on your side to follow through with each step throughout the year.

STEP 1: TAKE TIME TO REFLECT

The first step of this process involves a period of self-reflection and introspection. This is a very important step because it lays down the foundations for the New Year’s resolutions you will set for the coming twelve months.

These foundations are set in place when you clearly understand where you’ve come from, what you’ve done to get here and how your life will potentially unfold in the future as a result of these experiences.

Reflection questions

• What’s my life been like over the past twelve months?
• What went well that I am grateful for?
• What is currently missing in my life that I expected to have?
• What valuable lessons did I learn over the course of the year that can now serve me moving forward?
• What matters most to me?
• How would I like to positively change my life and grow and develop as a person?
• How could I potentially make a positive difference in people’s lives?
• What is one goal above all others that I would like to achieve this coming year?
• What new beliefs would be worthwhile adopting?
• What habits or behaviours could potentially sabotage my progress over the coming year?
• What new habits or rituals would be worthwhile adopting, which are aligned with my priorities and intentions?

It’s important to understand that the intentions you set for the new year will never be realised if you keep living at the same level as last year. New goals require a new set of habits, rituals and beliefs.

These three elements in combination will help you create the momentum you need to follow through with your intentions to attain your New Year’s resolutions.

STEP 2: OUTLINE YOUR GOALS

A goal that isn’t written down on paper is nothing more but a fleeting dream that you hope will materialise one of these days. Write your most important goal down on paper by using the smart goalsetting process as a guide.

Do not set goals just to impress others. Goals that are built upon your core values, passions and motivations hold the ingredients you need to stick it out for the long haul.

Outline goals questions

• Who am I doing this for?
• Why do I want this goal in my life?
• Where am I now and where do I want to go?
• Does this goal align with my passions and purpose?
• Am I willing to fully commit to this goal?
• Am I realistically able to commit to the attainment of this goal?
• What dreams do I want to achieve and what goals do I want to accomplish?

Attaining your goals requires personal sacrifice. Are you willing to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve your New Year’s resolutions? If you are, then you can move on to step three.

STEP 3: CREATE AN ACTION PLAN

Having now clearly outlined your goals, it’s time to create a plan of action. This action plan must primarily focus on building the habits and behaviours that will help bring your goal to life.

This process might take some time. As a result, it’s important to create mini-goals for yourself along this journey. These mini-goals are your pitstops, where you can rest and recharge before continuing your journey.

Having timeframes along this journey for each pitstop is of course also very important. These timeframes help you measure your progress.

Action plan questions

• Do I need any resources or specific tools to achieve my goals?
• Would gaining more knowledge about something help?
• Do I have anyone who could support or guide me?
• What distractions might I face, or what mistakes do I need to look out for?
• How will I respond to potential setbacks?

Once you have the answers to all these questions, it’s time to design your plan of action around specific actions you will take to help you develop the necessary habits and rituals to bring your goals to life.

STEP 4: TAKE ACTION

The journey towards your goal is a marathon. And to run a successful marathon, it’s important to pace yourself accordingly.

It’s important to start slowly and methodically turn progressive actions into long-lasting habits that will serve you along your journey.

Work on creating small successes over time, and then raise your personal standards as you become more familiar and comfortable with your actions.

In this way, you will build the necessary momentum that you need over time. This is about creating sustainable change over time. And the only way to create sustainable change, is by taking one step at a time.

Action questions

• What is one small thing I could do right now to move me forward towards my goal?
• Is it fear that is stopping me from taking action? What are my fears?
• What is one thing I can do today to move forward?
• What is my next step? What about the step after that?
• If I don’t do this now, what will happen in the long run?
• What consistent daily actions could I take to develop the necessary habits to help me achieve this goal?
• Why is it important to take these actions? How will I take them? When? Where?
• What critical habits and rituals will I develop as a result of taking these consistent actions?
• What are some small things I enjoy doing that I could use as triggers to take further action?

?Once you have your action triggers in place, commit yourself to using them every day to trigger very specific behaviours that will help you move towards the attainment of your goals.

STEP 5: KEEP YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE

Holding yourself accountable means engaging in self-discipline to complete both old and new goals.

Successful people rely on a host of different strategies to keep themselves focused and on track to complete all their tasks on a daily basis.

The final step to attaining your goals is to hold yourself accountable for your choices, decisions and actions as you make progress along your journey. Holding yourself accountable means being honest with yourself at all times.

Achieving your New Year’s resolutions is about consistent action. Consistency is the key – however, above all else you must hold yourself accountable for these kinds of choices throughout the day.

And if you struggle to hold yourself accountable, then here are a few strategies you can implement to assist:

• Ask for feedback. Turn to mentors for advice about holding yourself accountable.
• Get an accountability trigger (partner). Sometimes you need a fellow peer to stay on the course from one day to the next. Choose a reliable friend with a similar set of goals to be your personal accountability buddy.
• Recognise when you’re procrastinating. Learn to notice when you are procrastinating in the first place and nip it in the bud. Procrastination is one of the main enemies of self-accountability. Stick resolutely to your time management strategies and get back on track as soon as you notice you’re letting yourself drift away into distraction.
• Reward yourself. Reward yourself for remaining diligent and working hard every day. Self-accountability requires effort and delayed gratification, so remind yourself that there is something positive you’re working towards at the end of every goal.
• Look for one small victory each day. Every single day, look for a victory you made towards your final end-goal. Having fun moving forward will also make it more achievable!
• Record your progress. Setting up a journal or a diary to record your small accomplishments will help you observe how little progress can lead up to huge numbers. As you begin to observe growth, you are reminded of what small efforts can result in.

One thing is certain: Once the confetti falls, you’re left to face your New Year’s goals head-on. Follow these guidelines and steps and make your 2023 resolutions (goals) a reality.

Fun facts

• A total of 38,5% of United States (US) adults set New Year’s resolutions every year.
• Also, 59% of young adults (18 to 34) have New Year’s resolutions, which makes it the largest demographic that sets these goals.
• Another 48% wants to exercise more – making it the most popular New Year’s resolution. The top 3 are all health-related.
• A total of 23% quit their New Year’s resolutions in the first week, and only 36% make it past the first month.
• And 9% successfully keep their New Year’s resolutions.?

References

https://insideoutmastery.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/blog/goals-vs-resolutions-whats-difference

https://www.timeneye.com/blog/goals-best-frameworks/?utm_term=&utm_campaign=Timeneye+-+Time+tracking+campaign&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=1798227960&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_grp=&hsa_ver=3&hsa_kw=&hsa_tgt=&hsa_mt=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_cam=18391332138&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI46CRm5DY-wIVie7tCh0tJwAqEAMYASAAEgIXrvD_BwE

https://wildsimplejoy.com/new-years-resolution-plan/