How to keep your New Year's Resolution

It’s that time of the year again, and the New Year is fast approaching. Every year people set New Year’s Resolutions. Unfortunately as time goes on the excitement of making a life change wears off.

According to Proactivechange.com

40 to 45% of American adults make one or more resolutions each year.

Among the top New Year’s resolutions are resolutions about weight loss, exercise, and stopping to smoke. Also popular are resolutions dealing with better money management / debt reduction.

The following shows how many of these resolutions are maintained as time goes on:
- past the first week: 75%
- past 2 weeks: 71%
- after one month: 64%
- after 6 months: 46%

Unfortunately I have fallen in the failed resolution category myself, and a few simple tips will get the ball back in your court, and get you on the ball to making and keeping those promises to yourself.

Step 1: Before choosing your goal/goals make sure it’s something you are prepared to commit to doing. Write down the pros and cons of each goal, and how it will affect you and others. I never make more than 3 goals, but on the same token, you don’t want to make several and not be able to give them your full attention.

For example: Steve wants to stop smoking, and save money

Pros

-He will be living a healthier lifestyle

-He will save money by not spending $5.75 or more per pack twice a week (That’s $598.00 a year He can spend on something else)

-His clothing and home interior will be free from that cigarette smell

-He will save money on his health insurance by giving up a bad habit

Cons

-His girlfriend still smokes, so that will tempt him to back slide

-He has tried stopping before and it hadn’t worked

-He is afraid his bad habit will be replaced by another bad habit

***** Steve can enlist his girlfriend to try and stop smoking together. The money that they save together from not smoking can be used towards a weekend getaway as a reward for reaching their goal.

 

Step 2: Make a Goal that is realistic.

For example: Mary wants to lose weight. She knows her ideal weight is 47 pounds less than what she weighs now. She has struggled in the past before, so what is she going to do to make it work?

A. Set a short term goal that is within reach: Mary plans to lose 15 pounds within the next 8 to 12 weeks.

B. How is she going to do this? Joining a gym.

C. How is she going to help herself: Changing her diet. Keeping a journal of her progress, and as added support she is going to enlist the help of a friend to be a work out partner.

Once Mary reaches her short term goal, the motivation of accomplishing the first step, will help her continue to reach her long term goal for losing the remaining 32 pounds. If during that process she feels like giving up, she has the motivation of a work out partner to propel her further.

Step 3: Have a support system.

Enlist the help of someone who you know is going to keep you on the straight and narrow. That is going to appreciate your goal, and motivate you on making your change. Sometimes it helps if you have someone that is working towards the same goal, so you can help each other along the way, and learn from each other.

Step 4: Be focused. Write yourself a reminder, and remember “A New Year's resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous.” It is to your advantage to reach your goal(s).