I want to lose weight. I want to get stronger. I want to work out six days a week. I am going to eat healthy. Do any of these New Year’s resolutions sound familiar? As the new year is upon us, it is customary to analyze this past year and start the new year off with some goals.
The success rate of these goals usually tapers off by mid-February, if not earlier. You might wonder why it is so difficult to stick to and adopt your new year's goals into your lifestyle long term? Setting too many goals at one time, setting vague goals, and not writing down your goals are a few of the culprits. When you have more than one goal, your chances of accomplishing any goal decreases exponentially.
I am going to share some simple ideas with you on how to be successful with your goal setting this year.
Create a vision board. Cut out some photos of things you would like to do or accomplish this year. This is a great way to keep your goals in sight and at the forefront of your mind.
Prioritize your goals and pick only one at a time to focus your efforts. Until this goal becomes part of your lifestyle do not add additional goals.
Use the SMART technique. Your goal needs to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound. A good example of this would be “To help myself and my family save money and be healthy, I want to cook three dinners at home every week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a month.”
As you ring in the new year, make it a point to try these ideas and be patient with yourself as you keep your goals in sight and accomplish them one goal at a time. 2023 is a new start to a new year and a new you! Create that vision board, prioritize one goal to work on at a time and keep it SMART!
*This article was also published in the Coastal Breeze on January 5, 2023.
