I know it’s March. I intentionally waited until now to talk about New Year Resolutions. We are usually super committed in January and perhaps still a bit in February on our New Year Resolutions. March is when we start slipping. I am hoping this post can reinvigorate our efforts 🙂
It’s human nature to stay waning on our commitments. Life gets too busy or it gets too hard. Here are 5 tips to stay the course or recommit to your New Year Resolutions.
Tip 1: Remember why you want this
Imagine for a second that you achieve the goals you set in January. How would that feel? It’s always helpful to remember why you set these New Year Resolutions. Perhaps you will feel more empowered, more appreciated, healthier, or happier. My New Year Resolutions are:
- To be present to my kids
- To be patient and calm when I am dealing with difficult personalities or difficult situations
- To figure out how work should fit into my life
If I can achieve the above, I will have better relationships with my kids and be happier . What would achieving your New Year resolutions do for your work or life? Remember that!
Tip 2: Celebrate your progress – no matter how small.
If you took any steps toward your New Year resolution, you should absolutely celebrate. 50% of the battle is inertia. Many people take no action at all. Therefore if you took any action, you are already better off. The first step is the hardest and you took it. Congratulate yourself and it can give you the encouragement to keep going 🙂
I started meditating. I started a “mental fitness” course. I decided to get a life coach for the first time in my life. While I still find it hard to be present, patient, and I still am not sure how work should fit into my life, I know I am making progress. Change takes time. I am glad I am on my way. You can be glad too if you have taken any steps toward achieving your New Year Resolutions.
Tip 3: Get a commitment partner
I bet many of your friends or family are probably also struggling with staying committed to their new year resolutions. Call or text someone and ask them to be your commitment partner and you can be theirs. A commitment partner can be pretty informal. You just need to share 3 things with him or her.
- What is your new year resolution and why you want to achieve it
- What is the next action you plan to take and by when
- How will you share your progress with him or her
By telling someone what you will do next and plan a date around it, you are more likely to do it. I asked my husband to be mine 🙂
Tip 4: Take small steps
Usually a New Year Resolution can be a pretty large goal – like ask my manager for a promotion or lose 50 pounds by end of year. Thinking about how to get there can be so daunting, we may not do it at all. Remember small steps every day can lead to big results over time.
Let’s take the example of “ask my manager for a promotion”. Here are some small steps to take that aren’t so daunting. While these are not all the actions you need to take, they will get you closer.
- Note down what you believe are the criteria for a promotion
- Note down why you believe you are ready for a promotion
- Discuss the above with a trusted friend or colleague and get some feedback
- Schedule the meeting with your manager to get career advice.
- Read this blog post on how to have a career discussion with your manager
While these are not all the actions you need to take, you will be making huge progress by just doing these five things. When in doubt, already break down a big goal into 100 much smaller achievable steps. As you take each step, you will gain momentum and feel good about your progress
Tip 5: Visualize the actions you need to take to achieve your goals
Not all the steps you will take will be easy. Visualize some of the difficult action you will take can help ease the discomfort and better prepare you for the real action. Visualization is “is simply a technique for creating a mental image of a future event.”
Let’s take the “ask my manager for a promotion” New Year Resolution. Try to visualize the conversation with your manager.
- How do you plan to begin?
- What do you want to ask or say?
- What will you do or say if your manager say something you don’t expect?
You can run the scenario in your head first as well as practice in your head how you may address unexpected responses.
Just Take the Next Step
Sometimes, it’s just about taking the next step toward your goal. If the New Year Resolution you made is still important to you, then ask yourself what is the next step you need to take to make more progress. The road to achieving your goal is never a straight line. Expect it to be bumpy with setbacks. Just keep going and take action. You will get there!
Your Comments: Are you still committed to achieving your New Year Resolution? How is it going? Are you still on track or need a boost? I look forward to hearing your experience and how I can help you achieve your goals
Your comments: Do you have an inner voice that tells you that you are not enough? Do you where it comes from and how to ignore it? I look forward to hearing from you.
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