Keeping New Year’s Resolutions
So now that the holidays are over, the tree is taken down, festive decor put away, and it’s back to reality, there will be many of us making new year’s resolutions.
There’s a renewed fervour to improve ourselves, maybe lose a few pounds, change some habits, improve a relationship. The list goes on.
We set new resolutions with every new year, giving ourselves another chance to make what we perceive to be necessary changes or improvements that will make us an all-round better person.
What is also not uncommon, is that these new year’s resolutions begin to lose their intensity and shine after a few weeks. Habits are hard to break! Changes in diet are impossible to maintain. We revert to old patterns in our relationships. So eventually, we forget about our new year’s resolutions.
Well, until the new year comes along again.
Tips for success
New Year’s resolutions are goals, and experts have long suggested that we follow SMART tips when making goals.
Here are SMART tips to give your resolutions a chance at success:
Goals must be specific and measurable. When we make our goals, it would be more helpful to state, “I would like to lose 20 pounds in 6 months”, rather than saying “I would like to lose some weight”. Not only is the former specific, it is also measurable.
Goals must be achievable. If I want to lose 20 pounds, doing it in 2 weeks is probably not achievable. Or sustainable. We may want to stretch it out over a longer period so that we continue to nourish our bodies to function properly, go to work, have healthy relationships, sleep well, and so on. Denying our bodies the sustenance that it needs to survive is not the best strategy
A plan like losing one pound a week is healthier for your body. It is also more sustainable in the long run, making it more likely that we would achieve this goal. We should state here that one must get professional advice when it comes to weight management. Talk to your family doctor or a registered dietitian about it.
Is your goal relevant, is another question to ask yourself. If I am a stay-at-home mom who loves to cook for her young family, making a goal to learn to fly a Boeing jet is not relevant to my life. Some questions to ask include how would achieving this goal make my life better? What would achieving this goal change for me? What would I have to sacrifice to achieve this goal? Is it relevant to my life?
It is important to mention here that no one should feel pressured to make new year’s resolutions. Just because everyone else in your life is doing it, does not mean that you have to.
Last but not least, what amount of time should I dedicate to pursuing this goal? When I achieve my goal, would I stop, and make new goals? What if I should fail, do I give up, or do I revise my goal?
Being specific with a timeframe gives us a chance to make it work. For example, if I want to lose 20 pounds in 6 months, that would make it 3.33 pound per month, or .77 pounds per week. Now that is a specific, measurable and achievable goal.
More tips …
Additionally, you might find some of these suggestions helpful:
Take some time to reflect on the past year. What stood out for you, what would you consider successes, and what would you not want to do again. Did you enjoy the year? Was it more about work than anything else? Did you take some time off for yourself, and did you make some progress in achieving your dream life?
Taking the time to reflect will help us to decide what we should focus on in the new year.
Write your goals down. Sometimes it is easier to have our reflections written down, whether we label them successes, failures, achievements, incidents, events …
Ask yourself, which of these have strengthened your values? Which have challenged you? What did you learn about yourself?
Draw a mind map. Click here to find out how mind maps work. Mind mapping is a tool that helps you to organise your thoughts, your values, and all the things that are important to you. For those of us who are visual in the way we organise ourselves, this is a great tool!
Talk to your biggest supporters. This may be your spouse, a close friend, a former teacher, or a mentor. Get some perspectives on what people you trust have about your goals. Be prepared to listen and to accept.
Be true to yourself. The reality is that we all have responsibilities, whether it is children, a mortgage to pay off, a student loan, a career, ambitions, or parental expectations. Staying true to ourselves mean having a more contented life, with fewer chances for regret, resentment, or anger to sneak into our everyday psyche.