One of the most exciting parts of the new year is setting your New Year’s Resolutions! However, a not so fun fact is that most people abandon their resolutions by February. So how can we differentiate ourselves and stay committed to our goals? This is exactly what we will be going over in today’s blog!
Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals
One of the easiest ways to stick to your resolutions is to use the “SMART” goals system. Smart is an acronym that stands for:
- Specific – Avoid resolutions that are too general because you are less likely to hold yourself accountable. For example, instead of being more active you should go to the gym 5 days per week.
- Measurable – How do you know if you’ve achieved your goal? Make sure you have set yourself expectations that can be measured. For example, I want to lose 30 pounds this year.
- Achievable – This one is important. What is the point in making resolutions if there is no reasonable way to achieve them? I’m going to lose 250 pounds this year! Does that sound possible? Start smaller with something you know can be achieved like losing 30 pounds this year.
- Realistic – This goes hand-in-hand with Achievable. It is unrealistic to fly to the moon this year so why don’t we fly to New York instead?
- Timely – This is arguably the most important part of setting resolutions because you only have a year to achieve them! Time flies and life gets in the way so it is crucial to set a timeline for achieving your goals. I’m going to lose 30 pounds this year so my goal is to lose 2.5 pounds every month!
Extra Tips for Resolutions…
Many people wait until January 1st to start their resolutions and I think that this is a mistake. Truthfully, resolutions are tools to enhance your life so why wait? If you start going to the gym on December 15th you will be 15 days ahead of your goal and will avoid the huge new year’s crowds! On that point, everybody starts on January 1st and it can be demotivating walking into the gym and not being able to use any of the equipment… So, stick to the SMART goal system and crush your resolutions this year and all the years to come!
Finally, if you want to step your resolutions game up then I recommend setting multiple goals. For example, I like to set personal, financial, and professional resolutions. This is a fantastic way to develop yourself and you’ll find a lot of success if you stick to multiple resolutions each year!