New Year's Resolutions: How to make'em stick!

If you’re in the habit of making New Year’s resolutions, but struggle to make it past February 1, here’s an assortment of tips that may (just may) help you make ’em stick.

1. CREATE A STORY

When you decide to pass up that luscious dessert after dinner, or find yourself heading to the frig after 10 p.m., it’s helpful to have a story in mind – a personal message to tell yourself at these pregnant moments. The story might be as simple as: “I’m not going to have that dessert because I want to become more healthy, have more energy, be around until my kids have kids,” etc. The story is, by definition, the underlying reason that you’ve made that resolution in the first place, but saying it (actually mouthing the words to yourself) is actually quite helpful. Try it out!

2. WRITE IT DOWN

This may appear to be a light-fare recommendation, but it’s anything but. Goal-setting experts insist that the mere act of committing our goals to paper may be the most crucial step in the process. In our mind’s eye, we set hundreds of goals in a year, but few ever move from mind to matter. So put ’em on paper, and store it in a place that you can easily access (related tip: #7).

3. SET PERFORMANCE-BASED GOALS

A classic example: you want to lose weight and improve your health. A typical outcome-based goal might be to lose 15 pounds, but the goal is flawed because, technically, it’s beyond your control (as are all outcome-based goals).

Instead, let’s convert this into something that you can control, that is, into a performance-based goal. For example: I plan to exercise (walk, run, jog, lift weights, take spinning, or yoga, or pilates) three times a week, exercising for 30 minutes each time.

More examples of performance-based goals, courtesy of VideoFitness.com:

• Making it all the way through an hour-long video without stopping;

• Working up to walking three miles briskly without stopping;

• Gaining enough flexibility to touch my toes;

• Drinking 64 oz. of water every day;

• Exercising for 30 minutes, five days per week;

• Performing resistance training activities three times per week.

4. BE SPECIFIC

Instead of setting generalized goals (e.g., “get in shape”), make them specific, that is, make them measurable, definable, precise and quantitative. Explained author Diane Eade, author of “Goal Setting Strategies for a Balanced Life”: “Consider the difference between these two goals: 1) reduce your unnecessary expenses at home; or 2) reduce personal monthly long distance telephone costs to $45 by July 1,1995. The second goal sets a specific target for personal phone use. Subconsciously, your mind can now monitor the length of time you spend on long-distance calls.”

5. ALIGN GOAL WITH VALUES

Author Kimberly Goodwin (“The Achievement Architect”) suggests that our “top 5 or so goals [should] be in line with your top 5 or so values.” She notes: “The significance may not seem apparent at first, but let me share Bob Roberts’ story. After attending a workshop I taught, Bob came to me and said he loved his job but for some reason achieving his career goals seemed to be a real struggle lately. I proceeded to inquire about Bob’s goals, learning he had recently revamped his career goals. He now had very clear and defined goals. The top three were to expand his sales territory, increase his income and become a trainer for new sales people with the company.

“Next I asked Bob about his values. He responded by looking at me as if I had just spoken a foreign language. I explained to Bob that values were those often intangible things that are important to us. Being a religious and family man, Bob quickly and confidently stated his top three values were his relationship with his wife, his children and his spirituality.

“. . . [Bob quickly discovered that his] goals were not being supported by his values. In fact Bob’s goals were leading him away from what he valued. Recognizing this actually made the solution fairly simple. Bob rearranged his schedule to take into account his values” (Note: Goodwin

points out that our values do indeed change throughout life). “He no longer was away from home on the week-ends. No more missed ball games and Sunday services. And when Bob was away, he and his wife had pre-arranged times for phones calls and more.”

6. BE POSITIVE

Gene Donahue suggests: “Write your goal in the positive instead of the negative. Work for what you want, not for what you want to leave behind.” Quick example from motivatorpro.com: “‘Execute this technique well’ is a much better goal than ‘don’t make this stupid mistake.’”

7. REVIEW FREQUENTLY

Much like a turkey at Thanksgiving, it’s good to check in every now and then. So, perhaps weekly, find that piece of paper where you jotted down your goal, then take a moment to read it, digest it, and reaffirm your desire. You’ll be surprised at how powerful that moment can be.