How to make New Year resolutions that stick

It’s that time of the year again! Time to make resolutions to improve health and  fitness, to get rid of a bad habit or two and to achieve  goals. Unfortunately, despite good intentions, many resolutions won’t make it to the end of the first week.

So, how to make resolutions that stick?

1. Choose wisely

Resolutions that we make for ourselves and that are aligned with what’s important for us are  more meaningful and more likely to stick.

Make a list of all the reasons you want your resolution to work. How does the resolution fit in with other things that are important for you?

For example, imagine your resolution is to lose 2 stone in weight and your reason for losing weight is for your health. Unless your health is something you value highly then the resolution is unlikely to stick. You have a choice – either you find a more powerful and more meaningful reason for losing weight (I want to keep up with my children, I want to be strong and fit when I’m older)  or cut your losses now and dump the resolution.

 2. Set goals

Convert your resolution into a clear goal. A goal stated in terms of positive behaviours is more powerful than stating a goal in terms of an absence of something. Make your goal SMART (Specific Measurable Agreed Realistic Time-bound).

For example, ‘I will weigh 10st by 1^st July 2013’ is positive, specific and time-bound. Losing 24lbs in weight is generally a realistic goals for most people and getting family and friends to agree to support you will enable your goal to be SMART and more likely to stick.

Split your goal into shorter term sub-goals that are also SMART and that will enable you to achieve your end goal. Ensure that one of your subgoals enables you to measure and track progress towards your resolution.

For example, I want to run a mountain marathon in June. My subgoals: identify a training plan that fits in with work commitments by 10^th Jan; follow the training plan from 11^th Jan; go to parkrun alternate weeks as speed training and to see improvements in fitness; do pilates and yoga weekly to prevent injuries.

3. Test out your goals

Identify the short and longer term costs and benefits for your goals and sub goals. If the negatives outweigh the positives then your goal will be an uphill struggle. Why make things even more difficult for yourself? By tweaking the goal and sub-goals so that the benefits outweigh the costs you’ll find yourself with stronger goals that are more likely to stick.

4. Take responsibility for success

Choose to accept that you are fully responsible for success of your goals. 99.9% of the time you, and only you, are responsible for the thoughts that go through your head and for your actions. Choose to think differently and to adopt a mindset of success. Success means being able to learn when things don’t go according to plan or are more difficult than originally anticipated. If you get a knock-back you can choose to take stock, work out what you could have done differently and start again.

If you find yourself blaming others or blaming a stressful day at work then you’re not taking responsibility for success. Take stock and decide what needs to change.

5. Develop strategies to prevent relapses

Identify the triggers that might lead to a relapse and identify strategies to overcome them. For example, a few glasses of wine will make it very unlikely that I get up early for a marathon training session so I will avoid the wine the night prior to training. If that doesn’t work then I’ll change training to be in the evening. Strategies might mean asking family/friends for support, changing routines which might contribute to a relapse or avoiding situations which are likely to result in a relapse. Those giving up smoking often avoid pubs for a while to minimise relapses.

A relapse doesn’t mean failure!  You can choose to condemn the behaviour, not the person. A relapse means that you need to adapt your behaviour to meet your goals.

Now you have the knowledge to develop strong resolutions that stick!

Over to you to apply this knowledge… enjoy taking control and achieving results!

A coach can assist you in strengthening your resolutions and can also be a great source of support in preventing relapses.  If you’re interested why not book a 1 hour telephone coaching session to strengthen your resolutions so that they stick? Fill out the form below or email karen@aspirecc.co.uk to book a coaching session or find out more about how coaching can help you achieve the results you want.