For many of us, the new year seems like the perfect time to turn over a new leaf and get into new habits to help ourselves grow. Researchers have named this the ‘Fresh start effect’, which means a particular landmark can motivate a person to aspirational behaviours. It’s no surprise that one study found that people who set a New Years resolution are 10 times more likely to change their behaviour than those who don’t make yearly goals. However, it’s been found that 80% of New Years resolutions fail by the second week of February and only 9% of people who make New Years resolutions felt that they were successful in achieving their goals! So how do we stick to our New Years resolutions, so we can look back on our year and feel like we achieved our goals and expectations?
- PLAN how and when you want to achieve your goals. This will mean that you’ll also consider tactics to overcome obstacles along the the way, making it easier to stay on track.
- Making your goal specific will mean that it’s also measurable. This will make it easier to track your progress and where you can improve. eg. ‘i want to exercise more’ changes to ‘I want to be going to the gym 3 times a week’.
- Start slowly and acknowledge every victory- at some point, we have all bitten off more than we can chew when it comes to challenges and goals, however starting slowly and making small changes often will increase the likelihood of achieving your long term goals.
- Acknowledge failure and move forward- everyone will all have ups and downs, and it’s good to reflect on a bad day so you are able to identify the problem and act on it. Any goal should allow space for mistakes, and we all know how easy it is to beat yourself up about it. However, instead of being harsh on yourself, focus on how far your have come and start afresh the next day.
- Tracking your progress will help you to identify reasons for slip ups and also see how far you’ve come since starting. This can also be something you refer to on days when you’re feeling unmotivated.