About 40% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, but only about 9% feel they have been successful in completing them. Why are these numbers the way they are? Why are/aren’t people making resolutions? Some may not set goals at all, or not see the need to make them exactly at the beginning of the year. Some may be setting more frequent, shorter-term goals. And others are setting goals, but not completing them.
What about your resolutions, if you made some – how are they going? If the goals you set on New Year’s Day feel like a distant memory to you, I’m telling you that it’s not too late to give them up. Yes, you don’t have to scrap them and wait! Here’s why that is, plus how you can ensure your resolution is fulfilled throughout the year.
Some motivation for you.
If you set New Year’s Resolutions (which, whether or not you do is perfectly okay either way), I have one question for you:
Why do you do it?
Why do you set New Year’s Resolutions? And, better yet, why do you set them at the start of each year?
What drives many of us into making New Year’s Resolutions is the fact that the idea even exists to begin with. Plenty of people want to set goals for the new year, and it’s a great idea! Nothing better than improving yourself year after year. But setting long-term goals can be hard. Transitioning into new lifestyles and breaking long-term bad habits is a massive change. And the struggle to be consistent can be overbearing, and eventually, we just fall back into place. Oh, well. At least we tried, right? Better just pack it up and forget about it until next year…right?
Wrong!
Why wait until the next year? Maybe lots of people like to set goals every new year, and if it works for them, great! But if you’re struggling to achieve your goals, why wait until next year, next season, next month, or even next week?
You’re reading this on Sincerely Julie Anna (unless someone stole this post for some odd reason), so while you’re here, welcome to Julie Anna Land! (Creative, I know.) And in Julie Anna Land, New Year’s Day is tomorrow! Yes, tomorrow! And unless you’re reading this on New Year’s Eve, your New Year’s Eve doesn’t match up with New Year’s Eve in my country.
What am I trying to get at? I’m talking about time. Different civilizations, past and present, rely on their own calendars. And time itself is a way that we hold ourselves accountable. We use it to know what our deadlines are, when to meet others, what days we work or go to school, and so on. Time keeps us accountable for a lot of things. But it doesn’t have to for everything. Things, like your goals, don’t have to wait for a certain point in time to reset. In fact, there’s a reset button ready for you. All you have to do is push the button.
But wait – before you push the button!
You’ve had this goal for a while. Maybe for years. Decades! If you’re struggling to keep your goals, and your resolutions keep fading away, let’s assess why that is.
Before making a plan of what your goal really is and how to achieve it, ask yourself – how important is this goal to you?
Sometimes, no matter how organized and proactive I am about making a personal goal, sometimes I fail anyway. And that’s because my heart wasn’t in it. It just wasn’t important to me, or as important as other goals or projects I was working on.
But what if this is something that you want to be important to you? What if reaching this goal will improve so many areas in your life?
I like to use self-reflection and journaling quite a bit in order to understand my thoughts, actions, and future steps. If you’re in this kind of situation, I would recommend doing the same. Ask yourself, “How exactly will this improve my life? What burdens will be removed as a result? Don’t those burdens bother you?” These kinds of questions, in my opinion, are the greatest motivator, as they are the most detailed, ungeneralized realizations of why you started.
But we’re not done yet! The next step in being successful in achieving your New Year’s Resolutions involves some planning. Similar to setting goals, it’s best to break them down and figure out how we’re going to get to the finish line.
Make a plan.
Let’s pick a common resolution to make a plan. This time, let’s say we’re trying to get healthier. We could just go for it, but that’s a little vague, and a bit of planning would help, wouldn’t it? Let’s see what steps we can take to make to turn resolutions into reality.
1. Break it down.
Okay, so we want to get healthier. What exactly does that mean? Depending on a lot of factors, getting healthier could mean a lot of different things. A good approach is to keep on coming up with follow-up questions to your answers until your answers stop being vague.
What’s your New Year’s Resolution?
To get healthier.
How do you plan to get healthier?
I want to lose weight.
How are you going to lose weight?
I will go to the gym and eat better.
How often will you go to the gym and what will you do? What will your diet look like?
And let the questions keep going. Eventually, you’ll have a broken-down plan of what you will do. You’ve gone from “get healthier” to “Eat x calories a day on the y diet and go to the gym z days a week.”
2. Baby steps.
You’ve laid out a meal plan. You’ve got a gym membership. You’re ready to go. But wait! Isn’t this a lot at once?
Yes, I did just make you interview yourself, but consider your results as the eventual habit. This is a lot to get started on day one, and is certainly overwhelming. You’ve got your routine, and suddenly you’re thrown in a new one. You’ll have to get different foods and learn how to prepare them, go to a new gym alone, and keep track of your goals. All of this will take lots of time, effort, and stress. Not only that, but in this case, think about your diet. If you’ve done the research and found out that you have to eat 500 calories less a day, for example, that would be hard to do suddenly. It’s more rather something that you’d want to work your way to.
Especially today, we have so many things that are instant. Unfortunately, many goals we make aren’t. They take lots of time and consistency – and understanding that you won’t see results in a month is crucial. Remember not only that but also to take gradual steps. You may not be able to start your new habits altogether, but that’s entirely okay. This isn’t a race.
So what can we do in this example? We can start 100 calories less, then work our way down. Forget about the gym for now if it’s too much at once. We keep working our way down, listening to our body’s needs and building a habit. When we’re ready, we go to the gym! We can start with one day a week and work our way up.
3. Know it won’t be easy.
It’s not easy to change habits. Sometimes you’ll want a cheat meal. Some days, you won’t have a good workout. Or you’ll have no idea what you’re doing in the gym. But that’s all okay. No matter what you’re trying to do, it won’t be easy. But keep going, and make it a habit. Sometimes you can take a step that was too big too, and it’s okay to come back to baby steps.
A common quote that gets passed around is “Know why you started.” I like this one a lot, but it only works if you really reflect on it. Recall our interview before, as well as our talk on why this resolution is important to us. Think about the time that’s been put in, especially if this wasn’t the first attempt. If this is really as important as you said it was, then you have all the reason you need to keep going.
4. Stay organized.
When it comes to my fitness goals, I’m the most consistent and successful when I track my food, water, and exercise. Is this the same for everyone? I can’t confirm that. But I feel that there’s no disadvantage in organizing your goals and progress in some way.
How can we do this?
Depending on what your goal is, we can try this from many angles. For my fitness goals, I keep a daily log of what I ate and compare my calorie count to what I needed to get to. I did the same for water, and when I’m tracking it, sleep. For exercise, I at least log my PR’s for each exercise so I know when I’m advancing.
Certain apps and products can help you track your health goals, like MyFitnessPal and Fitbit. See if there are any out there to help with your specific goal.
You can also keep a daily journal and record each night how your progress is going. Did you hit your goal? How do you think you’re doing so far? What are your setbacks? Recording how you’re feeling throughout can help you assess where your problem areas are and redirect you back to the end goal.
5. Stay positive.
It’s easier to let our resolutions fade away if we’re convinced we can’t. Our mind would already be settled on the fact that we can’t do it, and so we stop. Switching that mindset can do wonders for us, and if we believe that something can be done, then we are convinced it is possible and continue to work towards it. It’s a simple concept – but it works!
Okay, so tomorrow is the new New Year’s Day. What’s your resolution? Are you ready?
Sincerely,
Julie Anna
