Guide to making your New Year’s resolution stick. (It’s not too late!)

by Max Seabrook

Almost half of the American population make New Year’s resolutions! But a third of those drop out by February! If you made a new year’s resolution this year then that’s excellent because that means you’ve identified something about yourself that you want to improve on and you’re taking steps towards that change. But did it stick? Are you still going out on those morning runs? With so many people falling short of their New Year’s resolutions, how can we stay on the right path?

I decided to write this article to help people stick to their new year’s resolutions with a step-by-step guide here:

1. What is your goal or “new year’s resolution”? (Be specific and write it down!)

When you’ve decided what your goal is, you need to be as specific as you can. “I want to improve my health” for example, is extremely vague and therefore easy to forget about and “fail”. What aspect of your health do you want to improve? Do you want to lose weight? How much weight? Once you’ve got as specific as possible, write it down! Write it down and keep it somewhere that you’ll see it on a daily basis.

1. Why?
   So now you’ve got your New Year’s resolution ask yourself why you’re doing it. This will come in handy later on down the line when you’re finding things are trying to get between you and your goal. Again, be as specific as possible with this and write it down. Why do you want to make these changes? What motivates you? Is it to build a better life for your family, to avoid illnesses, be an inspiration for someone?

1. How?
   Now that we know the “what” and “why”, it’s time to figure out “how”. Have you done this before? Has anyone done this before? How did you or someone else achieve this in the past? We can achieve the same success that others have achieved if we follow the same processes that they completed. If necessary, seek professional help for example: a personal trainer, business coach, nutritionist etc.

1. Who keeps you accountable?

It helps us achieve our goals when we are held accountable for what we say we’re going to do! If we make a New Year’s resolution and keep it to ourselves then it’s easier for us to get away with not following through. So make sure you’re surrounding yourself with people who support your goals! Announce your goal as publically as you can – social media, co-workers, family etc. Make sure you already have a plan in place and that you’re announcing the process to achieving that goal rather than just the goal alone. This will give more weight to your endeavour. Ask your family for help on sticking to your goal. This is also where a coach or gym-class can help you stay on track too.

1. When?
   Does it stop on December 31st or is this a lifelong change? Maybe it’s time to start regulating ourselves more than just every 12 months. I suggest to be reassessing the situation at regular intervals of 4-8 weeks. Schedule this is in as part of your plan moving forward.

Answering these questions about our New Year’s resolutions will help specify exactly what we want to achieve and help build a plan on how we’re going to achieve it. Even if we “fail” on achieving a New Year’s resolution, that doesn’t mean we can’t start pursuing that same goal 2 seconds later. Just go back to this list and refer to “Why” you started in the first place to keep you going forward. These tips can be used for any goal, any time of the year! Self-improvement isn’t just for the 1st of January!

Good luck with your Goals and New Year’s resolutions! I wish you all a happy and successful 2017.

– Max Seabrook

Citations:
1.New Year’s Resolution Statistics

2.J Clin Psychol. 2002 Apr;58(4):397-405