8 simple strategies to make your New Year’s resolutions last.

One of the main reasons why most New Year’s resolutions fail is because we don’t look at them as making life changes. When we give our resolutions the title of “life-changing” events, we need to approach them in a different way. We should set them as goals, and make plans to reach these goals. Change is a gradual process that takes time. We also need to learn to better manage our time to create something new in our lives.

Acknowledging successes.

Take time to acknowledge and celebrate your past successes. It’s a very important step that gives us space for self-recognition and self-appreciation. When we allow ourselves acknowledgment and self-approval, it activates a motivating part in us that tells us that everything is possible. This part reinforces the belief that we ARE the creators of our lives. It makes it much easier to move forward after we recognize how far we have come in our lives.

I have a simple technique. On December 30th or 31st, take a little time to write down all the things that you are grateful for in your life and congratulate yourself for all the things that you have achieved this year. If you choose to follow my advice, remember to list anything that comes to mind, even what seems like small things. For example, “I made more time to spend with my friends” or “I helped a stranger in doing …” or “I learned to ride a bike.”
This simple strategy will lay the foundation for the work you want to do to improve your life in the New Year.

The next step is to set your New Year’s resolutions, or rather your goals for the upcoming New Year.

8 steps for successful goal-setting:

• Write down what you would like to accomplish in one sentence. Often the goals that are doomed to fail are either too big, too vague or we just made too many of them.
It’s fine to have a few concrete goals in different areas of your life. However, you might want to prioritize them and focus on one or two at a time.

• To ensure success, state your goal in a positive sentence. Ask yourself a question: “When I achieve my goal what would that look like?” (i.e. “I weigh ……by ……..”).

• Make your goal measurable by asking yourself this question: “How will I know when I’ve reached my goal?“

• Break the goal into small measurable steps that you can do daily or weekly. Be realistic here. If you can only devote 15 minutes a day to this new goal, do just that. Once you get to the point where positive results are showing up in your life, you will find a way to make more time for this new goal.

• Celebrate your successes once you have reached a certain milestone (i.e. treat yourself to a spa treatment or other indulgence for trying something new or eliminating a bad habit for one month).

• Keep track of your successes in a journal or on a calendar. Some people like posting it on their fridge or other places where they can see it often.

• If you have a setback, remember that it’s temporary, and change is NOT a linear process. You can move forward from any point, without wasting the energy on beating yourself up.

• Share your goals with your family or friends who will support you and keep you accountable.

I suggest keeping your New Year’s resolutions simple, stay committed to your goals, celebrate successes and look forward to creating better lives for yourselves and your loved ones. Happy and healthy New Year!