What do you want to resolve to do in 2016?
Work out more?
Eat less fatty foods?
Decrease your salt intake?
Save more money?
Or maybe you have no idea what your resolutions should be. If this is you, check out this goal sheet from Dawn Nicole Designs.
Now that you’ve figured out what your goals will be, you may have noticed that the resolutions we mentioned above are nice ideas, but pretty lofty and idealistic. It is easy to say you’ll eat less fatty foods or read more books, but without numbers and a plan, they will remain such – ideas.
Rather, try coming up with a more actionable statement with steps it will take you to get there.
Example: Instead of “I want to save more money,” try “I’m going to put $50 into a savings account each week” or “I’m going to put aside 5 percent of my paycheck.”
If you are having trouble figuring out where that $50 or 5 percent is going to come from, take the time to figure out where all of your money is currently going (you may need to get a physical envelope and save paper receipts to do this) and create a budget that allows you to put some money aside. Hey – no one said it would be easy.
That leads us to our second piece of advice – if you slip up, don’t sweat it.
Often, people start off with great intentions – they purchase a gym membership, buy a new yoga outfit or even sign up for a personal training session. But then, by the time February rolls around, they have resigned to the couch once more. If this sounds familiar, don’t let yourself quit because of one bad day at the gym or one missed workout. And, if you know you’re going to struggle with motivation, find a friend to be your accountability partner or sign up for a fun class you will look forward to each week.
And having fun is half the battle. It is far easier to start doing something new than it is to stop doing something old. If you want to stop sprinkling salt in your meals, try some new recipes with salt alternatives. Since picking up the salt shaker is a habit, resolving to try new foods with new spices may help create a new habit, rather than break the old one.
Finally, while we would all love to get more organized, read more books, lose 10 pounds, become a better cook, stop biting our nails, find a new hobby, travel more, stop eating processed sugars and start a podcast series, it is unlikely we will be able to accomplish all this in one year’s time.
If these are all goals of yours and you want to work toward achieving them, you can still create actionable steps toward success, but there is no reason to try cooking, karate and playing the guitar all in one week. Try one thing at a time and you will be far less likely to get burned out on all of them.
For more advice, check out this article by psychology professor Art Markman for TIME Magazine. And if you’re serious about quitting smoking, be sure to check out this article and sign up for Freshstart, a free 4-week program offered by St. Elizabeth Healthcare.
