We’re already just weeks away from 2020, it’s crazy to think!

 

 

I love the New Year’s holiday because I like the idea of new beginnings, fresh starts, and setting new self-improvement goals.

 

 

One thing a lot of us do before the year ends is to create “resolutions” to improve ourselves for the following year.

 

 

However, often these resolutions are short-lived.

 

 

Ask anyone who consistently goes to and/or works at a gym – there will be a huge influx of attendees at the beginning of January and then that number trickles down as the days go by.

 

 

In fact, research suggests that roughly 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail.

 

 

So, what can you do to make your resolution within the 20% that succeed?

 

 

 

Here are 8 tips to help you stick with your New Year’s resolution:

 

Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links that direct you to another business’s goods and/or services. If you purchase anything through the links I provide, I may receive compensation or a commission – a percentage of the sales price you pay – at no additional cost to you. Please know that I only recommend products and services that I personally use and love, or those that I have thoroughly researched and believe would be of value to you.

 

 

 

 

1. Start Right Now, Not on January 1st 

 

 

Today is December 4th, why do we have to wait several weeks to start working on our goal? Think of how much progress can be made with an extra 3 weeks.

 

 

I have a long history of saying “I’ll start on Monday,” “after this weekend, I’m going to do X,” and “once the holidays are over, I’m going to get back on track.”

 

 

Do you find yourself doing this too?

 

 

This is so detrimental to accomplishing our goals. The problem with this type of thinking is that we’re starting with excuses.

 

 

Sustainable goals – whether they involve losing weight, quitting smoking, establishing a fitness routine, or earning more money – require a lifestyle change.

 

 

By saying “I’ll start after the holidays” we’re telling ourselves that if something out of the ordinary happens (family get-togethers, traveling, stressful events), then we have a reason to not respect our goals, that we get to take a break.

 

 

To make a true change, we have to be willing to stick with our goal even when it’s hard.

 

 

So, there’s no reason to wait for an arbitrary start date.

 

 

Start now! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

 

Click the image to take this course and learn how to start and launch your blog business and make your first $1,000 a month!

 

 

2. Don’t Even Call it a Resolution (Change Your Mindset)

 

 

I quit using Facebook on January 1, 2016, as a type of New Year’s “resolution,” and I haven’t been on it since.

 

 

Before that year, I had had so many resolutions that failed for one reason or another. Almost every year I would try to eliminate something from my life (fast food, alcohol, soda, etc.) and every year it would fail.

 

 

For some reason, at least for me, calling it a “resolution” created so much pressure to never do that thing again (or at least for the whole year).

 

 

This often resulted in me giving up completely if I had a relapse on McDonald’s or a glass of wine one time. I’d already “lost” my resolution, I felt like I’d failed, so I didn’t try to keep working towards that goal.

 

 

I know this line of thinking is irrational, but it’s something a lot of us do. We set a resolution, then give up on it if we make one little mistake.

 

 

The difference with my goal of quitting Facebook, and my success with it, had everything to do with my mindset.

 

 

Quitting Facebook wasn’t a “resolution,” per se. I was just done with it. It was affecting my life negatively and I decided that my life would be better without it. I changed the way I thought about it.

 

 

Instead of looking at it as temporary, year-long abstinence, I just said to myself “I am not going to do this anymore.”

 

 

It really was that easy. And I don’t miss it.

 

 

Although it seems very hard to break a bad habit, it actually takes more work to keep up a habit than it does to quit one. This is a concept I learned reading Jen Sincero’s book You Are a Badass.

 

 

Take overeating: With food, you have to physically get up to go to the grocery store, to McDonald’s, to the refrigerator, etc.

 

 

It takes fewer steps to avoid overeating – you don’t even have to move. You just have to sit in the discomfort of not satisfying a craving.

 

 

One thing that has helped me in changing my mindset to keep working towards my goals is telling others that “I don’t do that anymore.” It’s a subtle change from “I gave that up for New Year’s,” but it’s made a big difference for me.

 

 

For example, when offered alcohol, instead of saying “I can’t, I’m giving that up this year” which may open you up to more pressure to relapse, try saying “No thanks, I don’t drink.”

 

 

Changing your mindset can be hard, but if you’re serious about accomplishing your goals it is a must.

 

 

For more tips on how to rewire your thoughts, read my article How to Stop Thinking Negative Thoughts (Even When It Seems Impossible) here.

 

 

3. Pick Only One Goal – The Single Most Important One

 

 

Have you ever had so many things to do that you decide to just do nothing?

 

 

I am SO guilty of this. Sometimes when I have a million things to do, I get so overwhelmed that I just decide to take a nap.

 

 

Very counter-productive, I know, but it demonstrates a common reaction to being pulled in a hundred different directions.

 

 

This is why it’s so important to narrow down your “resolutions” to one goal that is the most important to you.

 

 

If you have multiple goals, you will get distracted. Your attention will be divided and you’ll be less likely to accomplish any one of the goals.

 

 

This has always been a huge issue for me. I’ve always wanted to do so many things!

 

 

When I started my blog, it was one of many goals – I wanted to lose weight, improve my fitness, get up earlier in the morning, make more money, travel more, plan a wedding, buy a home, pay off all of my student loans, etc.

 

 

You can see why it would’ve been difficult to do any one of these things – there were simply too many.

 

 

My attention was divided.

 

 

It was interesting, though, how when I started implementing the steps to create my blog other things fell into place.

 

 

I wanted to get up earlier to work on it, so I did.

 

 

I felt energized by doing something that excited me, so I felt more motivated to work out.

 

 

Think of the one single thing that would improve your life the most and focus your time, attention and energy on that single goal until you accomplish it. Then you can move on to the next and the next.

 

Click the image to join this course and learn exactly how Michelle Schroeder makes over $50,000 in affiliate marketing each month!

 

 

4. Write it Down

 

 

 

 

Studies suggest that the simple act of writing your goal down makes you over 40% more likely to achieve it.

 

 

With that statistic, and the minuscule amount of time it takes to write something down, why wouldn’t you put your goals in writing?

 

 

Set aside time in your day to write down your biggest goal. Make sure you’re specific – include things like:

 

 

• Why do you want to accomplish this goal? Think of all of the reasons why accomplishing this goal will make your life better.

 

• How would you feel once this goal is accomplished? If you can get yourself to feel that feeling, you will feel exponentially more motivated to take the necessary steps to get it done.

 

• What steps can you take to make progress on this goal? Specifically, list out the things you can do today, tomorrow, this week, and this month to complete your goal.

 

• What potential obstacles might you encounter, and how will you overcome them?

 

 

Write it all down, and look at it every day.

 

 

 

5. Make Sure Your Goal is Achievable Within a Reasonable Amount of Time

 

 

This one is subjective.

 

 

What is a “reasonable” amount of time, realistically, for you to accomplish your goal?

 

 

This period will vary depending on the type of goal, availability, etc.

 

 

For example, if you want to pay off $100,000 worth of debt, but you only earn $30,000 per year, 6 months may not be a reasonable amount of time for you to accomplish your goal.

 

 

 

If you set an unreasonable time frame for the goal you want to accomplish, you inevitably will not accomplish the goal and, in turn, you’ll feel discouraged to continue making progress on it.

 

 

Crunch the numbers, do the research, do the math, and determine a realistic time frame for you to lose the weight, or get the new job, or pay off the debt.

 

 

Then establish a specific timeline and stick to it.

 

 

 

6. Track Your Progress

 

 

It may not seem like a helpful practice at first, but if you consistently track your progress you will be astounded by the motivation you gain by seeing what you’ve accomplished.

 

 

For example, some fitness experts suggest that weighing yourself every single day helps you keep off the weight.

 

 

Although, initially, it may be discouraging (especially if you’re gaining the weight back on occasion), if you keep a log of your day-to-day progress you have a clear picture of how far you’ve come.

 

 

A few weeks from now you’ll see the overall steady decline of weight, the slow but increasing level of income, etc.

 

 

Also, the act of writing down your progress helps keep you accountable to yourself and to know when to make changes if your progress plateaus.

 

Click the image to join this course and learn how to grow your business through Pinterest from two bloggers with two six-figure blogs!

 

 

7. Take it One Day at a Time

 

 

I, like everyone else in our society, want instant results. When I start a new health and fitness regimen, I look for a change in my body the next day.

 

 

I’ve been eating healthy all day, why haven’t I lost 5 pounds??

 

 

It’s a silly example, but to stick with a goal, we have to play the long game and understand that big changes are made through tiny decisions throughout each day.

 

 

What you do today gets you one step (however small) closer to your desired result.

 

 

I know it’s easy, especially when it doesn’t feel like you’re making progress, to cheat on your goal or fall into temptation.

 

 

One strategy that I learned to avoid cheating on my goal was something I found in Russell Brand’s book Recovery. The strategy is telling myself “I just have to not do ‘X’ today.” It’s an example he shares about maintaining alcohol abstinence, but it works for every other area of life too.

 

 

Try “I just have to avoid eating fast food today.” “I just have to not buy the cigarettes today.” Eventually, “today” becomes days, then weeks, then months, then potentially a lifetime of positive change.

 

 

Again, progress on your goals (and changing your life) is just the totality of baby steps, the hour-to-hour or minute-to-minute decisions you make each day.

 

 

 

8. Renew Your Motivation Frequently

 

 

Have you ever read a book, attended a conference or listened to a motivational speaker and felt so fired up and inspired to do something that you feel on top of the world? Only to find that, sometimes even the very next day, you go right back to your old state of mind?

 

 

This happens to me all of the time.

 

 

Actually, this happens to me almost every day. More often than not, I wake up in the morning thinking that I can’t accomplish my goals, that I’m making mistakes, that I’m overwhelmed and lost in life.

 

 

Instead of wallowing in this (which I what I would have done in the past), I renew my motivation.

 

 

I listen to an uplifting podcast.

 

 

I read motivational quotes (read 15 Motivational Quotes About Taking Action Towards Your Dreams here).

 

 

I call a positive friend or family member.

 

 

I re-read the goals I’ve previously written out and refresh my thoughts about why I’m doing what I’m doing.

 

 

You’re never going to be motivated all the time.

 

 

But the good news is that it’s very easy to renew your motivation to make progress on your goals!

 

 

Click the image to start your own blog or website through Bluehost.

 

 

Final Thoughts

 

 

Creating New Year’s resolutions can be great, but you have to be willing to put in the work to make a real change in your life.

 

 

Try some of the tips above and see if they help you stick with your “resolution” for good.