In January 2020 (seems like it was so long ago!), we wrote a blog describing how to better stick to your New Year Resolution. We mentioned in that post that very few people who make a resolution stick with it until the end of the year. Over the last two years, fewer and fewer people report trying to even make a resolution. You may be one of those people, finding that resolutions are pointless, that there is nothing special with January 1st that will help them reach a new goal for the year. However, people still make them every year and we tried to help those in 2020 on how to reach their goal for the year. However, there may be other steps to take when making your resolution, if you are going to make one, to help you reach it.
Do a Self-Assessment
Whatever your goal may be and before you settle on it, take some time to look back over the past year. What were your highlights? What big changes, good or bad, occurred? What goals did you make throughout the year and how did they go? Do you know why those goals did well or not? If you have been making the same goal year after year without any success, something is wrong with the goal, or the goal doesn’t resonate with you personally. This self-assessment, hopefully, will also help you determine what type of investment you are ready to make if there is one required. Investment is not only financial but time, effort, and more will need to go into what you are hoping to do.
Be Absolutely Certain About Your Change
Even if you don’t know how you want to achieve your goal, knowing that it is something you want to do for yourself is the most important thing. Having that absolute certainty in mindset and dedication will allow you to strategically think through your goals. Don’t create an unhealthy mindset that achieving this goal is the end all be all but having absolute certainty will help you succeed. This will also help you determine if there are necessary things in your life that you will need to do less or stop doing. If you are unable to make that change, this step also helps you determine if this is worthwhile.
What If You Fail
As we’ve mentioned multiple times, resolution goals are only achieved by 14% of people who make them. It can happen for many reasons but a common one is that the goal doesn’t end up linked with daily life, like work, school, and home life. Are you mentally and emotionally able to cope with the failure of a goal that is so important to you? Will there be costs that happen if you don’t complete your goal and can you manage those?
If You Make One, Adjust Your Goal as Needed
Goal setting is never as linear as we think it should be. Things change while you have started it. Maybe your goal itself changes completely, the process you want to reach it has changed, or maybe there are small aspects that need to be adjusted. There will be times during the year that you know are more difficult as well (like exam season) where you need to make a temporary adjustment. We’ve said this before, but the path to change is an up and down road instead of a straight path.
We hope this information helps you learn more about New Years’ Resolutions! Message us with topics that you would like covered.