So many of us make New Year’s resolutions each year. The first few days are great! I feel motivated and as though I can accomplish anything. But if I’m being honest, come February, I pursue them less and less. By March, I have forgotten what I wanted to achieve in the first place. Determined to keep my resolutions this year, I’ll be using these tips to help me stay on track, and I hope you use them too!
SMART Goals
Annoying acronym aside, SMART goals are an exceptionally useful tool. Commonly used in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy, SMART goals help individuals plan ahead in a sustainable way.
S stands for Specific. Setting a specific goal means having a clear and concrete goal in place. For example, simply saying, “I want to lose weight” is not specific. Instead, mention how much weight you want to lose, “I want to lose 8 Kilos.”
M stands for Measurable. For the previous example of losing weight this is very easy to do (I want to lose 8 kilos). However, with other goals, this can be more challenging. Keeping a journal or taking pictures as you work on your goal can be essential in helping you measure your progress.
A stands for Achievable. We all want to make big changes to our lives, however, we also have to remember to set goals that we can achieve. This does not mean that you cannot set lofty goals, but it may be a better idea to start off small. For example, I may want to become healthier and take up running as a hobby. But it may be unrealistic for my goal to be to run an entire marathon after only two months of training. When we have unachievable goals they can end up taking over our lives or even make us feel unworthy and bad about ourselves if we are unable to achieve them.
R stands for Relevant. Is this a goal you feel passionate about? Is it something you truly want to achieve? Are you trying to attain it due to external pressure, or negative feelings towards yourself? Your reasoning is a vital part of the goal making process. If you are not doing this because you want to, it is unlikely that you will be able to sustain to motivation to pull it off.
T stands for Time-bound. Having a goal is all well and good, but we need to put a clock on it. This helps us stay on track and stay motivated. But it is also important to keep in mind that the time limit we are imposing is realistic. Like in the above example, running a marathon after only two months of training may not be feasible, but if the goal was, “I want to run a marathon after a year of training”, it would be more achievable.
Limit Your Resolutions
The New Year always seems like a great time to make big changes in our lives. However, if we try for too many resolutions we are unlikely to be able to achieve any of them. This is because we cannot sustain enough motivation to make huge changes in multiple areas of our lives at once. it would be better to focus on one goal at a time. For example, if I want to lose weight, learn a new skill and stop a bad habit such as biting my nails, it may be best if I start with trying to lose weight first. Once I feel comfortable eating healthier and going to the gym regularly, I can start working on my next goal.
Break Up Goals Into Smaller Parts
Sometimes our resolutions can seem as insurmountable as Mount Everest. It can feel like we are standing at base camp looking up at this Goliath of a task. When this happens to people, they often give up before ever really putting in any effort, because the task seems so impossible they say to themselves, “What is the point?” and give up. Breaking up a task into manageable chunks can help you achieve your goal. For example, if my goal is to run a marathon by the end of the year, step one should be going for a walk for 15 minutes every day. Once I am comfortable with this, I can increase my time to 30 minutes and so on. After which I could switch to jogging for 15 minutes and build up my endurance until I am ready to run a marathon.
Have Support
Having a buddy who wants to achieve the same goals as you do can motivate you to keep going, even when you want to give up. On the other hand, research has also shown that telling others about your goals, and what you want to achieve can also help you stay on track.
Keep Trace
Progress can often seem slow and this can often make us feel like giving up. Other times, we might simply forget about our goals for days at a time. Keeping a record, such as a journal, taking pictures, writing a blog etc. can be very beneficial in keeping you motivated and pushing you to continue.
I hope these tips help you keep your resolutions this year, just as I hope they help me stick to mine! What are some of your resolutions for the year? Why not leave a comment below? Happy New Year!
