7 Steps to Hitting Your New Year’s Resolutions
Most of us have made New Year’s resolutions only to abandon them after the mood was gone. I once had an employment candidate tell me, “Character is the will to follow through on a good resolve after the mood wore off.” Good point.
I’m not throwing any stones. I’ve made New Year’s resolutions that I ultimately failed to achieve. If you’re like me, it wasn’t because you didn’t want to achieve the goal. You probably didn’t plan to quit. So, why didn’t you keep your resolution? The answer might be in one of the 7 points listed below.
7 Steps to Hitting Your New Years Resolution
Don’t Make Too Many
Don’t make a lot of resolutions all at once, such as losing weight, learning a new language, going back to school, taking on a new hobby, and working out every day. Attempting multiple resolutions may be difficult, if not impossible. Pick one and focus on it.
Be Specific
Don’t make general resolutions, for example – “I’m going to lose weight!” Spell out how much weight you plan to lose and set a deadline. This might help, Six ingredients of a goal.
Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late
Don’t wait until midnight New Year’s Eve to make your resolution. Put a little thought into it before making a resolution. And I don’t mean that on December 1, you decide your New Year’s goal will be to go on a diet. That’s not enough. Do your research and decide on the diet type before making your New Year’s resolution.
Don’t try to Take on Too Much
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Break large resolves into smaller achievable bites. For example, if you’ve decided to say, I don’t know, write a book. Saying you’re going to write a book is a plan to fail. Break it down to outlining a book, writing chapters, and editing with timetables.
Go Public!
Don’t keep your resolution to yourself. Go public with your goals. Excusing yourself from a resolution is more difficult when you’ve gone public.
Make a Plan of Action
Don’t focus on the goal; focus on activities. You cannot do a goal you can do activities. A New Year resolution without an action plan is nothing more than a wish.
Don’t Make It Too Complicated
Don’t overcomplicate it. Keep it simple. Here’s an example.
My New Years resolution is to ___________________ my deadline is _____________ the activities I will stop, begin, or improve are _____________________________________________________________.
There you have it, although the mid-20th century swashbuckling film star Errol Flynn may have made the most achievable New Year’s resolution ever when he resolved to “Quit making resolutions!” If you’d like to go public with your 2024 New Year’s resolution, feel free to leave it in the comments. Have a safe and Happy New Year. See you in 2024.
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About the Author
Randy Clark is a speaker, coach, and author. He publishes a weekly blog at Randy Clark Leadership.com. Randy is passionate about social media, leadership development, and flower gardening. He’s a beer geek, and on weekends he can be found fronting the Rock & Roll band Under the Radar. He’s the proud father of two educators; he has four amazing grandchildren and a wife who dedicates her time to helping others. Randy is the author of the Amazon bestseller The New Manager’s Workbook, a crash course in effective management
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
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