Starting a new year, we always have these bright ideas we want to achieve. So we set ourselves goals, resolutions. And then we tend to falter over time. We can’t usually say we achieved our goals or were successful in our resolutions when December rolls around because we taper off. We never keep to our new habits or actions. We don’t stick it out. And I think that comes from one of two things: either it wasn’t truly something you ultimately wanted OR you don’t have a plan you can stick with.
There are several things you can do to make your new year’s resolutions stick this year. First, have a why. Knowing your why keeps you motivated when the going gets tough. Put your why on a post-it and stick it on your fridge or the mirror in your bathroom. Look at tit anytime you need that motivation.
Secondly, we need to break down our resolutions into goals. The first type of goal is the long-term goal. For goals (dreams) lasting a year, that long-term goal could be quarterly. If your main goal (or dream) is a multi-year goal, you may have one or two long-term goals that you want to achieve in just this one year. We need goals to help us know we are on the right track to achieve our dream or vision. You need long-term goals first because we are backwards designing our plans.
Third, you will want to write out short-term goals attached to your long-term goal. These may be monthly or weekly goals. For instance, if your long-term goal this year is to lose 50 pounds, your short term goals may be to lose 4 pounds a month on average. Maybe your health goal is a little more vague like you just want to be living a healthy lifestyle by the end of the year. Your short-term goals could be making weekly meal plans to ensure better eating. Being able to achieve these short-term goals will keep you going because you are seeing success. You are accomplishing something and that makes your brain do a happy dance.
And fourth, you will need to break down those short-term goals into a workable plan. Having goals is great, but a plan is needed to make it happen on the daily. Making weekly meal plans doesn’t mean you will eat what you plan, but carving out a day each week to meal prep, is a plan that makes it easier to achieve those better eating habits over time. Losing 4 pounds a month sounds doable, but you also have to exercise consistently and eat better to make that happen. Coming up with your daily plans that you can schedule on your calendar is what makes it successful.
So if you want to make your new year’s resolutions count, you need a plan based on your long and short term goals. Start here and you can feel accomplished as you go and be successful in keeping those resolutions.
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