Remember how excited you were when you first set your New Year’s resolution?
It was the beginning of January. You could still feel the warmth of quality time spent with family over the holidays. As you reflected on the year that had just passed, the possibilities of what this year could bring seemed endless.
You were ready to lose that extra weight, create that source of extra income, or start spending more time with your family in the coming months.
During the first several days, nothing could stop you.
Perhaps you established a new routine, started waking up earlier, or mapped out a step-by-step plan for accomplishing your resolution.
You started envisioning the key milestones and checkpoints you’d be hitting months down the road.
You painted a mental picture of yourself—one year from now—having accomplished your resolution. And it was beautiful.
But then, something changed…
That burst of fire you felt on January 1st slowly began to cool.
Making that key change in your routine or behavior started to feel a little bit harder with every passing day.
By now, you’re afraid you might not even make it to February before failing.
How do I know you feel this way? Because this has happened to everyone who has ever made a New Year’s resolution—myself included.
Why is it that 90% of people give up on their goal before the end of January?
It’s usually not because of laziness or lack of commitment. Most often, it’s simply because we lack a system that makes it easier to stick to our resolution.
Specifically, there are four things you can do right now that will keep you on the path toward your resolution long after everyone else has fallen by the wayside.
Remember These 4 Things to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolution
1. Make a realistic, measurable goal
People often kid themselves about what’s actually possible.
In fact, if Moses had spent just a few more minutes on the mountain, I believe he would have come down with an 11th commandment—Thou shalt not kid thyself.
Don’t get me wrong—big, aggressive goals are good. If your resolution doesn’t make you at least a little bit uncomfortable, it’s probably not going to make a massive difference in your life.
But even big goals need to be within the realm of possibility.
If your resolution is something like, “I’m never going to eat a brownie again for the rest of my life,” you have set yourself up for failure. (Or at least I would have… Ha!)
Anyway, I know you’re probably thinking: Great, Andy—I wish you’d told me this in December. How am I supposed to change my resolution now?
The answer is simple:
If you know your resolution is not realistic or measurable…just change it.
January 1st is nothing but another day on the calendar. There are 364 others that give you the exact same opportunity to make a change in your life.
If you know you’re not headed in the right direction, make an adjustment!
2. Focus on small wins
But the small wins are vital because they are much easier to manage.
If you set a goal to lose 35 pounds, and only consider losing 35 pounds a success, you will be unhappy about your results for several months, and will likely quit.
But on the other hand, if you weigh yourself every day and celebrate the loss of .1 or .2 pounds, you will be more inclined to stick with your goal.
Don’t obsess about the end result—obsess over the next 15 minutes. Do that over and over, and you will be amazed at where you end up.
3. Find your process
When you realize how important the next 15 minutes are, it’s natural to ask what exactly you should be doing during those 15 minutes.
Unfortunately, there is no easy answer.
This will come down to finding the process that works for you.
That’s why it’s important to study as many people as you possibly can who have already achieved something similar to the result you’re seeking.
All of the things that worked for one of them may not work for you, but I guarantee that some of what worked for them will.
Study, adapt, apply. Keep what works and discard what doesn’t.
4. Build on your success
Think about football for a minute—do coaches expect every play to be a touchdown?
Of course not. In fact, many plays are designed to get as little as three, four, or five yards.
Why? Because that’s often all that is needed to move the chains and keep the offense on the field.
The little things add up to the big achievement.
The same concept applies to sticking to your resolution.
Keep momentum on your side because, in life, success and defeat build upon themselves.
You Can See Your New Year’s Resolution Through to the End!
If you keep these four tips in mind, you’ll be part of the few who actually accomplish their resolution.
What’s your New Year’s resolution? Are you making any adjustments after reading this post? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
