40% of us make them. 23% of those that make resolutions keep them. Therefore 1 in 10 of us will make and keep these New Year’s resolutions. Not a very good success rate!
Why change anything? why not continue the way you started in 2013 and you will be the same in 2014. Do not complain you are overweight, your finances are not in order or you are still in the same job that you hate. Be content with your life. Repeat the same year again without any improvement! This is the key to success with New Year’s resolutions. Just do not bother to set them and you cannot break them. Perfect …
If, on the other hand, you are one of the ten that have reached the tipping point, the point where your pain of staying the same is greater than the challenge of setting and keeping a goal then read on. You now have a WHY, a reason to follow through to setting and keeping your goals.
Here are the 4 key mistakes I have made when setting New Year’s resolutions. Hopefully you can avoid these if you decide you have reached a tipping point in your life and wish to set some in 2014.
1. I did not write them down. I thought by keeping them ever-present and in my head, they would be with me always and I could focus on them. In practice I found that my goals were forgotten or they changed over time. By writing 4 or 5 goals on paper and sticking them on my wall I could review easily and avoided this problem. There are also some free mobile Apps available if you wish to download the App and enter your goals. The App will also send you a reminder email every week or month to help you with mistake number 2.
2. I did not have an accountability partner. I therefore gave up easily and justified lack of activity because I was focusing on new and fresh goals throughout the year. If I showed my goals to my partner, posted them to a friend or put them on Facebook I was mentally held accountable. The goals were less likely to be thrown in the trash or disregarded as the pressures and demands of everyday living increased.
3. My goals were not sustainable. I had never been to a gym before but set a goal to go to the gym every day! I had never saved any money before but created an impossible target of saving every month! When I learned to set small and sustainable goals my success rate was higher, I started to develop the habit of fitness and saving, I had some quick wins and this encouraged me to continue. Going to the gym once per week and saving a small percentage of my income was a good start to build these life-changing habits.
4. Some of my goals were either too easy or too hard. When a goal was easy I achieved it by January and there was no challenge any more. If it was too difficult then I waited until December and then started and then quickly ran out of time. By setting a realistic and time bound goal this kept me focused. When I made my goals Specific, Measurable and set a clear deadline to complete then this made my goal setting more productive.
If you have reached the tipping point in your life then set some goals …
Stuart
Making Steps and Leaving Footprints…