One of my New Year Resolutions for 2018 was to launch a blog. Originally, I planned to launch it midyear (June-ish) but I later decided that September made more sense to me. September, and the start of a new school year, gets me as excited (maybe even more so) as January 1st to wipe the slate clean and start new things. So, I re-adjusted my goal last March, and re-prioritized my other resolutions to fit.
Well, come September, life intervened again and again, and the blog fell to the bottom of my priorities.
No excuses.
I celebrated the achievement of many other goals last year, and I wouldn’t second guess my choices in the moment. So here we are in 2019, and my New Year Resolution (again) was to launch a blog. But this time, I set a goal to launch it in January! And … here I am! It’s the last day of January and I’m launching my first blog post! My goal is to write a weekly blog post, sharing a bit of what I’m learning on my own journey and I hope my readers will help keep me accountable.
If you’ve already failed at your New Year Resolution(s), you are in good company. Do you know that 80% of people have given up on their resolutions by February 1st? In fact, studies show that only 12% of people actually achieve their resolutions each year, and by January 12th the majority of people have given up on them.
There are many reasons for this. Most resolutions are too vague, lacking a clear sense of the “why” behind them, and the costs, in terms of sacrifice, time, energy and resources, to achieve them.
The point, then, isn’t to walk away from resolutions altogether. It’s to make them more specific by turning them into goals. In practical terms, this means you need to know what you want to achieve, and why it’s important to you. Decide when you want to achieve it (give it a deadline!), and put a plan in place so you know exactly how you’ll get there. Then tell someone who will help you be accountable. So far, so good!
You’re not done yet, though! People who consistently achieve their goals do three things different from most.
First, they have a vision of how it will look and feel to accomplish their goal. Try it: close your eyes and envision, for at least a minute, what it will look like to reach your goal, and how you will feel when you do. Do this daily.
Second, they take small, regular steps to achieve their goal. Remember, most goals involve a process rather than being a one time event. This is a relief, because big goals broken down into small steps become less overwhelming. The most important part of the process is knowing what your next small step is, and consistently taking it. Looking back in a month, six months or a year to see just how far you’ve come is sooooo rewarding when you see that each small step has stacked up to make a big difference!
Finally, they make a habit of celebrating their achievements! When you accomplish your goal, don’t forget to bask in the moment, and allow yourself to feel good about what you’ve done! I used to go from one accomplishment to the next without taking even a moment to celebrate. I’d check the box and move on to the next thing without much ado. It felt kind of empty after a while. And unsatisfying. Now, I embrace the moment and depending on the size of my achievement I might invite others to celebrate with me! What can YOU do to celebrate each goal?
What a relief that each day is a new day, and a clean slate to begin something or start over! Waiting for a monumental moment to make a resolution isn’t necessary. It doesn’t have to be January 1st, or a Monday, or the beginning of Lent, or your birthday, or a new school year to set a goal or make a fresh start. There’s no better time than NOW to start taking steps to accomplish your goals. Just imagine, if you begin now, how you will feel looking back at this moment in three to six months, seeing how much you have accomplished?
Let me know in the comments below …. What is your goal? And what is one step you will take to make progress towards your today?
