Well, it is that time of year. The new year brings a sense of new hope and new opportunities to initiate things we want to do. Some people give up on New Year's resolutions after failing repeatedly year after year. But if you do not set goals for yourself, you will never know what you want and are capable of.
Not every goal needs to be pursued. Understanding whether you are working to achieve your or someone else’s dreams is important. Understanding this will differentiate how you feel once you achieve that goal and how you motivate yourself to overcome roadblocks.
Here are five proven strategies to help you achieve your New Year resolutions-
1. Understand Your “Why” – I have had various New Year resolutions, such as eating healthy, exercising three times a week, waking up early, etc. I have had some successes and some failures along the way. I have realized that it was about the goal I wanted to achieve and how it would make me feel. For example, losing weight made me feel confident when I looked in the mirror, and doing more volunteer work made me feel thankful and appreciated. There was a core need that I wanted to satisfy by achieving these goals.
Your “Why” will always motivate you to keep going and be resilient to face any challenges and obstacles that come your way. This is what is missing when people start their resolution journey: they fail to understand their “Why.”
Ask yourself -
Why am I making this particular New Year's resolution?
What will this help me achieve?
What is the core need I am trying to satisfy?
How does this goal align with my values?
How will it make me feel once I complete this resolution and achieve my goal?
What small step can I take today to feel that way?
2. Build habits - This is not a one-time thing. You will need to do this repeatedly. Break the goal into smaller goals with a deadline. You don’t have to start with one hour of exercise a day. Building habits will go a long way to achieving your goal beyond just one year. Getting 10 minutes one day and 15 minutes the other is okay!
Ask yourself –
What time of the day is feasible for this activity?
What minimum do I want to do this activity in the day? Even 10 minutes is good.
Who should be my accountability partner? Doing things with someone else makes it fun and a lot easier.
What obstacles may I encounter, and what is my alternate plan? Anticipating roadblocks and planning for them ahead of time reduces stress.
3. Be empathetic to yourself — This is very important. We are our biggest critics. We judge ourselves all the time more than we judge others. If we are not supporting ourselves and are not our cheerleaders, then how can we expect others to support us?
So what if you missed a few days of work towards your goal? Blaming yourself and feeling sad or angry about it will send you into a negative spiral. The longer you spend in that negative state, the longer it will take you to return and start working towards your goal again.
Ask yourself –
How can I be empathetic towards myself in this scenario?
What will I tell my best friend in this scenario?
What can I do to support myself in any situation?
How can I be kind to myself?
4. Change your mindset—Stop thinking about what is wrong; it is all about perspective. Our minds have a negative bias by default. That’s why our first instinct is to find faults. Instead of thinking, “Why am I failing?” think, “What am I learning that I can apply next time?”
Ask yourself –
What are the limiting beliefs that I need to overcome?
What am I assuming about this situation?
What is the opportunity here?
How can I turn this situation around?
What can I learn here?
5. Embrace Positive Energy - The Law of Attraction states that whatever energy you emit is what you will receive in return. The higher the energy you show working towards anything, the sooner things will happen for you. Be aware when in an anabolic(positive) vs. catabolic(negative) energy state. Have you ever wondered why everything starts going downhill once one negative thing happens in a day? It is because you let that one negative thing send you into a negative energy state, impacting the rest of the day.
Ask yourself –
What energy do I want to start my day with?
Why am I feeling negative energy? What can I do to lift my energy?
What are the things that are bringing down my energy?
What are the things that are bringing up my energy?
Do not give up on your goals or dreams due to fear of failure. Failure is the first step to success. Failures mean that you are moving closer to your goal. Nothing needs to be done or achieved as soon as possible; sometimes, the most fun and happiness is in the process. Be present to enjoy the process.
Free goals workbook - https://www.growhealthymind.com/post/goal-setting-workbook
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