It is that time of year again to make our New Year’s
Resolution, so I thought it would be a great time to share some facts about
those resolutions that we never seem to be able to keep and ideas for how to
make them more effective and more likely to keep.
The Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for the past year were
losing weight, getting organized, saving money, enjoying life, staying fit,
learning something new, quitting smoking, helping others, falling in love and
spending more time with family.
The best way to make a resolution that you will keep is to
set a specific goal. Goals like being healthier, saving money, or work out more
are not “resolutions” that will likely be kept.
By making your goal very specific, like “I will go to the gym Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday from 7.30 to 8.30” or “I will only have fast food two
times a week” will have a much higher success rate.
After making a change and keeping the commitment for three
months, it is much more likely for you to stick to it long-term. There are even organizations that will set up
a contract with you where if you fail your resolution, they will charge your
credit card and donate the money to a charity of your choice.
Some additional recommendations:
1. Write
it down
2. Don’t
try to do it all in January- spread your goals out through the year
3. Let
your friends help you- get your friends involved in your resolution
4. Create
a plan
5. Less
is more- don’t try to do too much, only commit to do what you are able to do
