Every year, millions of people celebrate the New Year with fresh goals and aspirations. Taking time to envision the life you want is a powerful first step toward identifying meaningful resolutions. However, maintaining those goals and following through with your plans can be challenging. Whether you aim to go to the gym more often, save money, take a break from social media, or finally take a vacation, sticking to your resolutions often feels harder than expected. In this article, I plan to discuss techniques to help you achieve your goals. We will dive into topics like goal setting, motivation, discipline, and overcoming excuses.
Goal Setting:
Setting goals is an important first step when considering your new year’s resolution. Clear goals can help you track your progress, identify steps you need to take, and stay motivated. I always recommend using SMART goals to assist with goal making.
What are Smart Goals?
Specific: Be specific about what task you want to accomplish. It does not need to be a long statement, but rather clearly define what it is that you are looking to achieve.
Measurable: Consider how you will measure progress. Consistent and reliable measures make your goal feel more tangible and rewarding as you begin to see results.
Achievable: Think about what the steps are that you may need to complete to achieve this goal. Do you already have the skills needed to reach the goal or is that a step in the process?
Relevant: Make sure that this goal is worth it! It is important to consider what your values are and if achieving this goal will increase your overall wellbeing.
Time-bound: Set a deadline for achieving your goal. This can help you to evaluate progress and assess whether or not you may need to adjust your goal in the future.
Examples:
Not SMART Goal | SMART goal |
My new year’s resolution is to save money. | I will save $20 from each paycheck and increase the amount by $5 each month to develop a consistent savings habit by March. |
My new year’s resolution is to spend more time with friends and less time at work. | By March 2025, I’ll leave work by 5 p.m. at least three times per week and schedule one meaningful activity with friends every other week.” |
My new year’s resolution is that I want to get outside more. | I will walk for 30 minutes, 5 times a week, after work, for the next three months to improve my physical health and reduce stress. |
It is important to ask yourself the following questions when setting SMART goals:
What do I want to accomplish?
Are there any obstacles to me completing this goal?
What is the reason for me wanting to achieve this goal?
Importance of Discipline
At the start of the year, many of us feel motivated to achieve our goals. However, motivation can fade and is often fleeting or difficult to predict/control. Though it may be more difficult, learning how to be disciplined may help you to achieve and maintain your goals. Discipline means commuting to actions that support your goals, even when it feels difficult. It can help to build healthy habits, keeps you accountable, and ensures steady progress even when motivation is low.
Danger of excuses:
When motivation dips, excuses can often creep in. Imagine a child saying “the dog ate my homework”. While this may give them a temporary pass, it may end up hurting their grade and they may even get in trouble! The same concept is true to new year’s resolutions. If we let excuses take over, we risk falling short of our goals. Embracing accountability and taking small steps can lead to lasting results.
How to Shift from Motivation to Discipline:
Here are some helpful tips to help build discipline.
1.) Remember WHY you set this goal: It can be so easy to slip into old patterns and behaviors. Reminding yourself why you set these goals can help you to stay consistent and do what is best for you.
2.) Affirmations: It can be helpful to find a few key phrases that really speak to you. These phrases can be something like “I deserve greatness” or “I know that I can do hard things”. Affirmations can help you to remind yourself that you are capable of change even if it seems hard or scary!
3.) BE KIND!!!: Setbacks are normal. If you have a bad day, remind yourself that progress isn’t always linear. Many people will often experience thoughts like “I can’t do this” or “I’m never going to achieve my goals”. It is important to remind yourself that you can always keep trying! Being patient with yourself and maintaining effort can both increase your wellbeing and foster progress. Remember that change takes time and every step of the process is worth celebrating.
Written By,
Jordan Adamson, LPC
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