Guide to Crushing Your New Year’s Resolutions

I know we’re a little early, but Christmas is upon us and then it’s a sprint to the finish of 2019. Besides, I always like to be ahead of the curve. Whilst I think we should regularly be assessing our goals (not just on the New Year), I do like any excuse to do a bit of self-reflection and reassess where we are heading in the next year. 

Last week I read a statistic that said 80% of peoples’ New Year’s Resolutions fail before January is over – EIGHTY PERCENT. That seems like a whopping number, though when you think about it, it’s not totally surprising. There is a whole lot of pressure on creating that perfect list of New Year’s resolutions – hit that fitness goal, lose that weight, become insta-famous. But I can promise you that if your resolutions are based on what society wants, what you think you ‘should’ do, are too vague, or you don’t have a plan, they will most likely fail. The good news? The 50% of resolutions that fail don’t have to be yours!

BE INTENTIONAL WITH YOUR RESOLUTION SETTING
This year’s resolutions are yours, and yours alone. They need to be things you truly want. You don’t need a list that is a whole page long. Instead, take some time to think about the few things you really want to work on this coming year. Your goals need to be achievable but challenging – there’s no use wasting a resolution on something that is guaranteed to happen.

Alongside your resolutions list, I also like to create a list of affirmations. This is a whole other topic that deserves a post of its own, but I’ll give you a quick example. Say your goal is to earn an extra $1,000 a month; write down a corresponding affirmation such as ‘wealth flows to me in abundance’. By repeating these affirmations to yourself daily, you’ll help reprogram your mind to a state of abundance that will then help attract your goals!

Another tip is to categorise your resolutions and affirmations into topics. Some of my favourites are self-development, relationships, career, health and finances. Under these headings write out one or two goals you want to achieve in the coming year. 

MAINTAINING YOUR RESOLUTIONS IS KEY
Creating New Year’s resolutions is easy - the trickiest part is actually maintaining them! This is why it’s so important to be intentional with your goal setting. If you’re not aligned, you won’t be motivated to pursue them for very long.

The best way to maintain your resolutions is first of all to make sure they’re written out and are kept in a place where you will see them daily. The next step is to create a detailed, step by step plan of HOW you will achieve those goals. Include timelines along the way and create little reminders in your phone to help keep you accountable.

MONITOR AND CELEBRATE
If you’re serious about crushing these resolutions in the long term, you’ll need to monitor your progress and adapt your plans as you go. Of course, this also allows you to celebrate your wins, no matter how big or small! When you’re creating your resolutions list, be sure to write out how you will celebrate when you achieve them – this will add to your motivation and give you something to look forward to!