How to set New Years Resolutions you will always achieve..

Just a quick message to say.. I am sorry! It's been a while since my last post which has been eating away at me, therefore, to combat the guilt, I have been eating anything that isn't nailed to the floor or poisonous. It doesn't help that at Christmas you have an unbelievable amount of food around the house which is calling you over like 'Ollie, plz plz plz. Y u no eat mi?'. So there, I'm sorry for my lack of posts but worry no longer! I am back. 

So 2018 is here and New Years Resolutions are being set (and broken) in all directions. Today's topic of conversation is therefore going to be a good one! This post will be my best advice for implementing new years resolutions/achievable goals to get the habit set as part of your every day life. 

Lets get to it!

Your goals have to be measurable!

Now i'm not saying that your goals have to be measurable in the sense that you have gained an inch on your bicep or increased your long jump by 4cm.. What I am saying however is that every goal must have a clear way to be tracked in detail. 

It is common knowledge that keeping a journal is one of the key habits that successful people attribute their success to. So why don't more people do it? This process allows you to get out everything that is on your mind without worrying that someone is going to judge you for it. It is your personal untouched sanctuary of thoughts, feelings and progress that cannot be taken away from you. 

Depending on your goal, a journal can be the easiest method of keeping an eye on how you are getting on. What I would suggest for those of you thinking of adding gratitude, mindfulness, healthy eating or meditation into your day is simply to write.. Every single day set aside 15 minutes to get down whatever is on your mind onto paper or a note on your phone. I have personally found that this process works best straight away when I wake up because my brain has been processing information all night long. 

Double-down on this goal for a month with no excuses

In order to ingrain the goal and develop it into a daily habit, starting out strongly can have a significant effect on how long (and how intensely) you continue to crush the resolution. 

One study conducted at the University of Chicago used monetary incentives of varying degrees to investigate the effectiveness of habits and routine. To do this, 120 students were separated into three groups where group 1 were paid $175 for attending an information session and giving their workout frequency, group 2 were only paid if they attended the information session, gave their workout frequency and worked out at least once per month and lastly, group 3 had to give the same information as the first 2 groups but also agreed to work out a minimum of 8 times in the next month. 

The results of this experiment are only of real interest after the payments stopped. They found that group 3 worked out 9 times following the final payment for exercising whilst group 1 and 2 went around half as often. Therefore, this shows that if we can build a habit for a short period of time such as a month, it could have a much larger impact than you might think. 

With this said, set yourself the target of practicing your new years resolution with 100% effort for just a month. If it is important to you, you will carry on through the love of the struggle! 

Are your goals relevant to you? If not, back to the drawing board!

Not only do your goals need to be both attainable and measurable, they also need to be relevant. Extremely relevant. And no, not relevant to John from number 72 or Tyrone from back in middle school, relevant to you only. 

Setting goals and resolutions can be a potent method of changing behavior and building strong habits, however, this only manifests when your intrinsic values align with your external actions. Ooo, write that one down Susan (there is no Susan). What I mean by this is that you have to WANT the outcome of the goal and not just think you want it. This is where keeping a journal is so important because it heightens your emotional intelligence (EQ) and self awareness to a point where you can decide for yourself if you are living by your core values. If your EQ is lacking, you will find yourself setting goals to what you think society expects of you, not what you truly desire. And that is a one way ticket to giving up pretty damn soon. 

To ensure your goals lie within your personal and core value system, before setting a goal ask yourself these three questions: 

• 1. Why is this goal important to you? – Make sure your goal aligns with who you are and what your values are.

• 2. What are the benefits and rewards of accomplishing this goal? – Think of the rewards and use that to motivate you to actually accomplish your goal.

• 3. Why will you be able to stay committed in the long-run? – Does the goal just sound good, or is this something that you know will still be important to you a month from now?

(smartergoalsneverfail.wordpress.com)

If you can answer these questions with confidence that it is right for you, using the tips I mentioned above, your goal is already within your grasp.