How to Make New Year’s Resolutions that Stick

A majority of people make New Year’s resolutions that will never be met. In fact, if you had to think back right now to the last resolution you made that you actually reached, how far back was it? Five years? Ten years? Never? Although you may think that you are the reason that your resolutions haven’t stuck, it may be that you aren’t setting them correctly. That’s right; there is a way that you can set your resolutions to make success easier and more effortless! Here is how: Be specific. You can’t expect to reach a goal unless you know exactly what the goal is. It’s not enough to say that you will lose weight or build your muscles because that can mean different things to different people. You have to be more specific in order for your mind to register what it is that you are working toward. Some ideas of specific goals include:I will lose 10 pounds
I will drop one inch off my waist
I will gain one-half inch of muscle on my bicep
Set a deadline. Once you know exactly what target you want to hit, you need to create a deadline. After all, if you have no end date by which you plan to reach your goal, you won’t be too motivated to do what you need to do. Procrastination can set in and you will just tell yourself that you will “do it tomorrow.” Now your goals may look like this:I will lose 10 pounds within 2 months
I will drop one inch off my waist by the 1st day of June
I will gain one-half inch of muscle on my bicep within 6 months
Be realistic. One very important point to mention is that your goal must be realistic. If it isn’t, all you are going to do is set yourself up for frustration and failure, making sure your resolution doesn’t stick – just like all of the other years before. It’s great that you want to be an over achiever and hit your goal in breakneck speed, but the reality is that the best route is the slowest and the safest. Why? Because it is the one that you’re most likely to stick to. True change takes time so if this is the last time you want to ever set this resolution, give your mind and body time to acclimate to a different way of living. Ideally, you’ll want to give yourself a little extra time to reach your goal when setting your deadline so that you don’t put yourself behind during the weeks that you struggle (and there will be struggles). Create a timeline as to what changes you will make when. Now that you’ve got a goal and a deadline (and both are realistic), it is time to create a timeline and outline the steps you need to take to get from where you are now to where you want to be. This will be the plan you will follow to achieve your resolution once and for all. One of the best ways to do this is to come up with the behaviors that you need to change and set them in intervals along the way. For instance, if I have nine weeks to meet my goal and nine behaviors that I can change to get me there, I would create a timeline in which I change one behavior per week. Maybe this week I would work on reducing my portion sizes by using my SlimPlate portion control dishes and next week I would increase my water intake by always keeping a bottle or glass by my side. Don’t worry about making all of the changes at once as you’ll have better, longer lasting results if you go one step at a time. Devise a measurement chart. To be sure that you are on the right path, you need to be able to measure your results. To do this, you will want to devise a measurement chart so that you can track your progress along the way. Because your weight can change from hour to hour and day to day, it is recommended that you record it no more than once per week if your goal is to lose weight. If your goal is to gain muscle, on the other hand, that takes quite a bit of time so you might create a chart where you take your measurements monthly. Follow these basic guidelines and you’ll be able to make a New Year’s resolution that finally sticks! To get even more great tips like these, be sure to join in on our FREE Weight Loss Seminar!