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It's that time of year again when legions of people around the world spend a few minutes deciding how they are going to change themselves in the coming year. Whether the resolution is to lose weight, save money, reduce debt, or find that special someone, chances are whatever goals are set won't be achieved. Tens of millions of people will start with high hopes in the first weeks of January only to find themselves disappointed by February. However, there are some key steps that will make you more likely to succeed.
Set Goals After You Think Them Through:
People rush to set goals before the New Year rings in. Unfortunately, this often leads to setting unrealistic or wishful goals. If you are setting a goal for a year, thinking it over for ten minutes hardly does it justice. Spare a few hours and concentrate on goals that are achievable. Consider mulling it over for a few days. In fact your first resolution should be to craft your other resolutions with care. Whatever your goal is, you should have a clear plan on how you are going to achieve it. If you are going to set a goal of saving $7,500, how exactly do you intend to do that? That goal requires you to save $625 a month. Do you think you're really up to that? If you can't spend the time to think through your goals, don't bother setting a New Year's Resolution.
Set Specific and Relevant Goals:
A New Year's Resolution to "Lose Weight" is completely useless. You could achieve this goal by losing as little as a pound over the course of the year and still claim victory. Goals need to be focused such as "My resolution is to lose 12 pounds by the end of June and do everything I can to keep it off". Be specific - is losing weight your real goal or should you modify your resolution to "I am going to reduce my body fat by 5 percentage points?" It's easier to motivate yourself when your goals line up with your real needs.
Answer the Question "Why"
The reason we make resolutions is to improve ourselves over the course of a set time period - a year. But if our resolution doesn't have a good "why" behind it, your're unlikely to stick with the program. If you're just out do something different, the likelihood of it actually happening is very low. Figure out why it is you're bothering to change yourself and make sure you have a compelling reason to make the necessary, and often painful, alterations in your life style. If you can't come up with a rationale, search for another goal or forget the resolution altogether. Take this example for instance. I want to cut my spending by $300 a month. Why? Because I have $7,000 in credit card debt and the rate is going up to 22% and I need to pay it off. That's a good why and a strong motivator.
Direct Goals are Better
Having clear 'direct action' goals are better. Cutting spending by a certain amount is better than having a goal to pay down debt. Running three miles three times every week is better than losing 10 lbs. Direct goals are completely within your control. What if you put on 5 lbs of muscle because you are working out and your weight doesn't drop a bit? Or what happens if you cut your spending by $300 a month and pay down debt but you have a medical emergency that increases your debt? The more direct and actionable your goals are, the easier it is for you to be accountable and achieve your resolution.
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